


Tender Touches

by JamieJam93



Category: One Direction, ziam - Fandom
Genre: Anxiety, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Brief Smut, Domestic Violence, Dyslexia, F/M, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-15
Updated: 2015-12-15
Packaged: 2018-05-06 20:09:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 34,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5429192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JamieJam93/pseuds/JamieJam93
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It isn't supposed to mean anything when Liam and Zayn meet, but in the end, it means too much. Or maybe just enough.</p><p>Or</p><p>The one where Liam is stuck in an abusive relationship and Zayn is there when he needs him most.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tender Touches

**Author's Note:**

> Please read the tags, especially if you have triggers. If you would like to know more detail on what the contents of this story will hold, please leave a comment and I will get back to you to figure out a way to find out if this will be an okay story for you to read or not. This story has just been pressing on my mind recently and I couldn't concentrate on writing anything else until I got this done.

Liam groaned out loud as he woke. He hadn't even opened his eyes yet and his head was already killing him. He supposed he should be used to this by now. He'd been getting stress headaches quite frequently the past few months. This was one of the worst ones, though, he knew already, because as he rolled over to check the clock, his head throbbed angrily and his stomach flip-flopped. Liam would have groaned again, or possibly even whimpered, but feared that making any little sound would cause him to throw up, so he swallowed the noise down and re-closed his eyes.

He had to get up soon, he knew. It was after ten in the morning and he'd promised Louis, his best friend for the past eleven years, that he would go over and just hang out for a little while. Louis and Liam didn't get to see each other as much as they would like, but Liam supposed that was what happened when your best friend and boyfriend hated each other, especially when you lived with said boyfriend who also tended to be a bit...possessive.

“Babe?”

And speaking of boyfriends…

Liam heard Avery's concerned voice come from the doorway and peeked his eyes open to smile at the man he'd fallen in love with nearly three years ago, when he was nineteen. Avery had been twenty-six at the time, already fresh out of medical school, so smart, and gorgeous. He was tall, standing at about 6'2, and had a body to die for; all strong muscles. He was constantly tan, no matter what time of year it was, had brown hair that always looked artfully disheveled, and stubble that tickled Liam whenever they were getting intimate. Liam loved him so much.

“Good morning,” he greeted, his voice gruff and throat sore. And, honestly, the fight last night hadn't been that bad, so Liam didn't know why he felt so beaten down.

“Are you okay?” Avery asked, his eyebrows pulled together with worry as he made his way from the door to the edge of the bed beside Liam.

“I'm fine,” Liam said, because he was.

“It's just that it's after ten and you're usually up by nine, at the latest,” Avery spoke, running his fingers through Liam's hair. Liam closed his eyes for a minute, embracing the touch. It felt so good.

“Mm,” Liam hummed noncommittally, not wanting to answer either way. Sometimes Avery was really sweet when he was sick; getting him medicine and liquids and making sure Liam had enough movies, books and magazines close by to entertain him for the day and other times, he would be convinced that Liam was faking and get mad. Liam couldn't blame him. Most people didn't get sick as much as he did. He would probably be suspicious too.

“Did you hit it last night?” Avery continued, and it took Liam a moment to remember that he was talking about his head. “When you fell, you didn't hit it, did you?”

“Mm-mm,” Liam said with a slight shake of the head. Avery frowned, leaning forward to press the gentlest of kisses to his forehead.

“I don't want to leave you alone like this,” he said, so, good. It was a sweet day.

“Work needs you, babe,” Liam said, sitting up, much to his head and stomachs' protests. “And I won't be alone anyway, not all day. I'm going to Louis' place for a little bit.”

“Ah, yes,” Avery said, not looking thrilled at the fact. Liam played with the bed sheets nervously. His boyfriend continued speaking.

“Do you really think it's a good idea to be out and about when you're sick?”

“It's just a headache,” Liam rationalized. “I'll be fine.”

“I'm sure Louis would understand if you had to cancel.”

“I know he would,” Liam told the other man, “but I'm not going to do that. It's been almost a week since I've seen him and I want all of the details on the guy he's meeting on Saturday.”

“The bloke from the dating app?”

“Yeah.”

“Ah, yes. What was his name again?”

“Harry.”

“Yes, Harry. Louis and Harry. Their names fit nicely together. I hope it goes well.”

“They do, and me too,” Liam agreed. Unlike Louis, Avery at least tried to hide his dislike of the guy. Liam couldn't really blame Louis, of course. After all, he had been the one that Liam had run to, bawling his eyes out, the first time that he had gotten into a fight with Avery that resulted in Liam being struck. It had hurt a lot more emotionally than it had physically, though, and once Liam had licked his wounds and forgiven Avery, he expected Louis to do the same. He might have eventually, Liam thought, if it hadn't been for the fact that Liam showed up to his birthday a month later with a swollen lip. He didn't think Louis bought his story about it being a reaction to something he ate, maybe because Liam hadn't been very good at makeup yet and the bruise was still very visible in some lightings, but whatever. That was the last time Louis 'knew' that Liam had been hit, and, well, what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Liam was fine. He was happy, and most of the time, he was safe. No, all of the time. Avery wasn't that bad, honestly.

“I've got to get to the hospital,” Avery said, pecking a kiss on Liam's nose and making him smile. “Text me later and let me know how you're feeling, yeah?”

“Okay.”

“I love you, Cupcake.”

“I love you too, Bear.”

With that, Avery got up, straightened out his jacket and left. Liam watched him walk away, thinking about how lucky he really was.

***

By the time Liam reached Louis' house, he felt better. Avery had the car, and Liam hadn't wanted to bother getting money for a cab, so he rode his bike, which had done him good. He was freezing, but the exercise helped his head, at least. He still wasn't at one hundred percent, but he was better than what he had been.

“Hey!” Louis greeted cheerfully when he opened the door, jumping straight onto Liam and wrapping his legs around the man's middle. Liam laughed. The way Louis and Avery fit around him were completely different because, while Avery was tall and muscled, Louis was short and curvy. Not that Louis didn't have muscle, because he did. He was in great shape, but Liam would never be able to hold Avery as easily as he did Louis, and that was okay. Avery did a good job of being the one to hold him, for the most part.

Liam was a bit jealous of Louis in some ways, honestly. Louis was smart. He pretended not to be, but he was, and was balancing going to school for psychology with a full time, stay-at-home job. On top of his brains, Louis had beauty and when he wanted something, he usually got it. Liam wanted to hate him sometimes, but Louis genuinely had no idea that any of that was true, and he didn't use any of it to his advantage, unlike Avery, whom Liam loved, but he couldn't pretend that he didn't know that his boyfriend knew how to work people and get everything he wanted.

Liam wasn't immune to his charms, so he wasn't judging.

“I missed you too, Lou,” Liam spoke as he held his friend tightly, being sure to not let him slip to the ground.

“Missed you more,” Louis said.

“Nu-uh!” Liam disagreed. “You've had _Harry_ to distract you. I need all the details on how that's going, by the way.”

“Of course,” Louis said, getting himself back on his feet as he smiled at his best friend. “But it's fucking freezing out here so, first, would you like to come in and have some tea?”

“I would love that,” Liam admitted. The caffeine may just be what he needed to get rid of his headache completely, and he thought his stomach would be at least able to handle that much.

Louis led him inside, Liam sitting as Louis poured them each a cup of his favorite beverage.

“Did you eat lunch?” Louis asked as he walked to the table with their cups.

“I'm not hungry,” Liam said. Louis gave him a look. “What?” Liam asked. “I'm not, and, besides, Avery is taking me to dinner later since he has a short day at the hospital.”

He did have a short day, that was true, but, as far as Liam knew, his boyfriend had no plans to take him out. It would get Louis off his case, though, and it was a harmless lie. So Liam didn't feel guilty telling it.

“Okay,” Louis said disbelievingly. “How does Avery's shift look for Saturday, by the way?”

“He has a twelve-hour,” Liam said. “Nine to nine. Why?”

“Because we're going on a double date.”

“Isn't after nine a little late for that?”

“Not me, you, Harry and Avery. Me, you, Harry and Harry's friend.”

Liam snorted.

“You're funny.”

“I am,” Louis agreed, “but in this particular instance, I'm being serious.”

“I can't go on a double date with someone who isn't my boyfriend, Louis.”

“Come on, Liam!” Louis whined loudly. “It doesn't have to mean anything, not for you two, but Harry and I both came to the conclusion that we shouldn't meet a guy in person for the first time alone that we started talking to on Tindr.”

“That's really smart, actually, Lou, but you have other friends you can take.”

“We said we would bring our fittest friend, though,” Louis told him.

“I'm not your fittest friend,” Liam said, cheeks turning red.

“Yeah, you are.”

“Well...Thanks, Lou, but….no. Take someone else.”

“Look. We'll make sure they both know that you have a boyfriend. It won't even be a double date. Just think of it like...you're chaperoning.”

“Avery won't like this.”

“Well, fuck him!”

“I already do.”

Louis glared. Liam smiled. Louis sighed.

“Please, Li. You're my best friend and I'm honestly so nervous and will feel a lot better if you're there with me.”

“You don't need to be nervous, Lou,” Liam said, voice growing softer as Louis' had. “You're gorgeous and funny and sweet, and Harry is lucky to be getting this date with you, which I know he'll quickly realize.”

“Yeah, people are so lucky to have me that my last boyfriend cheated on me with three different men.”

That had happened over two years ago, but Louis had been devastated, so much so that he had avoided dating and men in general until Liam had signed him up for the dating app about a month ago. Harry, a twenty-one-year-old real estate agent had messaged him that night, and Louis didn't reply for nearly two weeks, but he and Harry had been texting almost constantly since then and talked on the phone sometimes too.

“Your last boyfriend was a dick,” Liam pointed out softly.

“No, he wasn't,” Louis said, and, oh god, Liam was afraid he might cry. His blue eyes had that darker tint to them that hinted that he was getting close to it. “Not until...that.”

“Well, he was just an idiot then.”

“Please go with me, Li,” Louis said, his eyes still having that look to them and his voice sounding awfully close to breaking too. “I need you,” Louis continued. “I, like, almost threw up when Harry sent me the 'two days' text this morning.”

“Aww, Lou!” Liam cooed, standing to go to Louis' seat and getting to his knees to pull him into an awkward, yet efficient, side-hug. “Fine, I'll go, but I have to be home by nine.”

Louis smiled, rubbing his eyes and blinking them back to normal before getting his phone out and quickly typing in the pass code.

“Okay, selfie time,” he announced.

“Selfie time? Why?”

“I'm showing Harry what you look like. He's off today and he and his friend are hanging out, so maybe we'll get to see him too!”

“Make sure his friend knows I have a boyfriend.”

“Don't worry. I'll be sure to tell him so that Harry knows you're off limits too.”

“Harry doesn't want me,” Liam said.

“Because he hasn't seen you.”

“He wants you, Lou. I mean, seriously, your account was up for an hour and he messaged you. Then replied back in, like, ten minutes when you made him wait two weeks. And he calls you every night exactly when he should and texts you 'good morning' every day. He's whipped and he hasn't even met you yet.”

“Whatever,” Louis said nonchalantly, but Liam didn't miss the pink tint to his cheeks, and Louis stalled for a minute before raising his phone and taking a picture with Liam.

“Smile!”

Liam did, and Louis sent the message to Harry along with the words, _Liam, my fittest friend_ , and also a muscle emoji. Harry read the message almost immediately and replied with,

_Zayn says nice!_

A moment later, Harry sent a picture as well, of him and who Liam assumed to be Zayn, his 'fit' friend. And, well, he _was_ fit. He had dark hair; black, and tan skin, but not a fake tan like Avery. It was clear that Zayn had some type of different ethnicity in him, and Liam actually didn't breathe for a moment from how beautiful he was. His almond shaped eyes were chocolate brown, his lips full, and he had stubble too.

 _Zayn and me, being idiots,_ Harry had typed, along with a duck face emoji, and, okay, Zayn was kind of doing the duck face, but it worked for him. He was gorgeous, and there was no way he was actually going to like Liam.

Which, Liam reminded himself, didn't matter.

“Tell them I have a boyfriend,” Liam told Louis, who rolled his eyes but did so.

 _Zayn says 'for now' ;),_ Harry sent. Liam's face burned hot, but he didn't have time to think of something to say before Harry sent Louis another text.

 _Btw_ _I know I've told you this before but you are so gorgeous, in every picture. I can't wait until Saturday!_

Louis tilted his phone a little and, getting the hint, Liam stood and went back to his chair. Call him sappy, or pathetic, or whatever, but the wide smile on Louis' face was almost enough to make him cry.

***

“Hey, Li-Li.”

“Hey, babe!” Liam greeted his boyfriend enthusiastically when he got home from work that evening, running up to place a kiss on his lips.

“You didn't text me,” Avery said, and Liam frowned, thinking, before remembering that he was supposed to let the guy know how he was feeling. His headache, which he'd thought was finally completely gone, gave a small throb and his stomach muscles clenched up, making Liam get that sick feeling in the back of his throat.

“I'm sorry,” he apologized, his hands in balls around Avery's shirt. It seemed like forever before Avery spoke again when, in reality, it really probably wasn't that long at all.

“It's okay,” he said, smiling at Liam before placing a kiss on his lips and taking the younger man's hands in his own, massaging his fingers that had already started to cramp. “How are you feeling, Cupcake?”

“Much better,” Liam said, and he had up until a minute ago. He didn't know what was wrong with him.

“Good,” Avery said. “Are you up for dinner then? I was thinking we could go out.”

Liam must be able to predict the future, and he smiled widely, both because he hadn't lied to Louis after all and because he and Avery rarely had date nights anymore, so he was excited.

“Yeah, sounds great!” Liam agreed, a little over-zealously. Avery just smiled.

“I'm going to change then and I'll be ready.”

***

Avery went all out that night and took Liam to their favorite fancy restaurant, ordering champagne for them both to sip on, but mostly Liam, since Avery was driving.

Liam was a happy, giggly drunk, and he got drunk quick, so he really didn't mean to keep laughing at everything the attractive waiter said.

“Are you two together?” he had asked, smiling when Liam insisted on handing over the bill and made Avery's card go flying out.

“Yep, for three years now,” Avery answered before Liam could. They got that question quite a bit, actually, because of the obvious age difference, probably, and it didn't bother Liam. They were both legal and consenting adults, and what they were doing wasn't wrong. Mainly, it was older people asking because they wanted Avery and didn't think he should be with such a 'kid,' but occasionally someone around Liam's age would be interested in him and inquire too. The waiter was one of those.

“He's great,” the waiter commented, and Liam thought he nodded to him, but couldn't be sure because he was a bit dizzy. “Take care of him.”

With a wink, the waiter retrieved Avery's card from underneath a neighboring table and went to process it. Liam giggled because he felt like giggling, so why not?

Avery was quiet on the car ride home, but Liam didn't mind. He flipped through Avery's CD collection until he found one he felt like listening to and popped it into the player, humming along to the songs.

Once they were back home, that all changed. Avery allowed Liam to enter first, the younger man curtsying clumsily and thanking him before entering, but then Avery slammed the door behind the both of them and the next thing Liam knew, he was turned around and slammed into a wall.

“Ouch! Avery, what the fuck?” Liam asked, trying to blink his vision back to normal. It halfway worked.

“What was that?” Avery demanded, hands pressing hard against Liam's shoulders, preventing him from moving.

“What was what?” Liam asked, genuinely confused.

“Whatever that was with the waiter.”

“There was nothing 'with' the waiter.”

“You were flirting.”

“No I wasn't.”

“Well, he was flirting.”

“I can't help that, Avery,” Liam said, getting scared when he shifted and Avery did nothing to loosen his grip. “I'm sorry you thought I was flirting, though. I wasn't. I love you, Bear. You are the only one I want.”

Avery studied Liam for a good while, Liam having to swallow down his fear multiple times before the doctor finally spoke.

“Good,” he said, “because you're mine.”

Taking a fistful of Liam's hair, Avery pulled on it just hard enough so that Liam was forced to tilt his head to the side and then he leaned down to place a bite onto Liam's neck. The younger man would have thought it was foreplay except that there was no teasing with the tongue, or soothing the wound afterward with soft kisses. Avery had simply wanted to mark his territory, and once he was done, he went to the couples' bedroom and closed and locked the door.

***

Louis wasn't the only one sick with nerves on Saturday. In fact, Liam at first wondered if he had the stomach flu, but he didn't have a fever or any symptoms besides throwing up, which only happened when he remembered what he was doing that night; that he was betraying Avery.

Nothing was going to happen with Zayn, of course, and it wasn't even an actual date, as everyone involved knew that he was spoken for, but still. Liam didn't go anywhere without first getting the okay from Avery, and, as he knew he would not get the okay on this one, he had to keep it a secret. It was wrong, and Liam was a terrible boyfriend, but he had to do this for Louis, and there was no other way.

Liam finally stopped getting sick by four o' clock, mainly because he had nothing else in him to expel, and so simply gagged dryly a bit while getting ready.

Liam needed a therapist, probably. Or maybe just to come clean to Avery later and accept his punishment. Yes, that was probably what he would do. The thought scared him, but made him feel better too, and he smiled to himself.

Since they were going out to eat and Liam knew the only thing he would be able to order was water (Avery was the only one with money, as he was the only one who worked, and Liam had to get cash directly from him, which clearly wasn't going to happen without Liam selling himself out prematurely) so his goal had been to eat a bit before leaving, now that his stomach had relaxed, but he ran out of time so just hoped his stomach wouldn't growl during the night.

“Wow, Lou, you look amazing,” Liam commented as he got in his friend's car that evening. Louis was an attractive guy, but ever since the break-up, he had taken to rarely brushing his hair or changing out of sweats and hoodies or dull t-shirts; his way of making sure guys kept their distance, Liam thought. Tonight, though, was different. Louis had traded his sweats for a pair of nice, black skinnies, and the t-shirt and hoodie were gone. Instead, Louis was wearing a dark red v-neck, good for showing off his chest tattoo that Liam had nearly forgotten about and already drove the boys crazy, and a black jacket to compliment the shirt. His hair was brushed and styled into a neat fringe, and Liam even detected a bit of eyeshadow and eyeliner. Louis looked like Louis again.

“It looks like I tried too hard, doesn't it?” Louis asked as he waited for Liam to fasten his seat buckle before putting his car back into drive.

“Not at all,” Liam answered honestly. “That used to be your everyday attire, remember?”

“Barely,” Louis scoffed.

“You look great,” Liam assured him. “Harry's going to die.”

“I guess that will save me from later heartbreak then,” Louis said with a bitter smile. Liam patted his friend's knee comfortingly.

“Be positive. Not everybody is out to hurt you.”

“Tim wasn't _out to hurt me_ either.”

“And stop comparing Harry to your ex,” Liam added. “You're setting him up for failure that way.”

“You're right,” Louis said. “Fine. I'll keep Tim's mistakes off of Harry's so-far pure slate.”

“Good.”

***

Louis checked his phone once they got to the restaurant.

“Harry and Zayn are already here,” he said. “The table is under the name 'Styles.'”

“All right. Let's go then.”

Without waiting for Louis, Liam got of the car. After hesitating for only a couple of moments, Louis followed suit. Liam was so proud of him.

Harry did a double-take when he saw the hostess leading Liam and Louis to their table, his eyes scanning Liam briefly, but going right back to Louis, and then he beamed.

“Hi,” he greeted after Liam had slid into the booth to sit across from Zayn and leaving Louis at the end in front of Harry.

“Hi,” Louis said with a nervous smile back.

“It's nice to finally meet you in person,” Harry said.

“Yeah, you too,” Louis replied, fidgeting absently with his menu. Harry continued to smile, studying Louis for a couple moments more before turning to the guy sitting next to him.

“And this is Zayn, my best friend,” he introduced.

“Hello,” Zayn said, nodding and smiling politely.

“Hello, Zayn,” Louis said, relaxing a bit now that the attention wasn't completely on him. “This is my best friend, Liam. The one with the boyfriend.”

“Hello, Liam with the boyfriend,” Zayn said, still smiling, but almost mockingly then, _and holy hell was he hot._ Liam's face got warm.

“Hi,” he said.

The waitress came then to take their drink order and it was quiet while the guys looked at their menus, deciding what they wanted to eat. Liam pretended to look too.

Harry gave his order first, and then Louis, and then the woman looked to Liam, who gave his most polite smile as he said,

“I'm good, thanks.”

“Nothing?” she asked, one eyebrow raised. Liam smiled a bit bigger.

“No, thank you.”

“All right. Just holler if you change your mind.”

Liam thanked her again as she turned to Zayn.

“Um...I forgot what I was going to order,” he said as he flipped back through his menu. “Sorry.”

“You're fine, love.”

Zayn ended up ordering two separate appetizers, which Liam didn't really think anything about. The waitress took their menus and walked away, and then all eyes went to Liam.

“What?” he asked, awkwardly sipping on his water.

“You didn't get food,” Louis commented.

“I'm not hungry.”

Louis rolled his eyes.

“I should have warned you guys that Liam is a huge fitness freak, so he only eats fresh organic shit and protein shit.”

“Not anymore,” Liam argued. “Anyway, this is your date, Lou. Stop talking about me and tell Harry a little about yourself. Or a lot. I know how you like to talk.”

Louis glared, but then turned back to Harry, taking a sip from his drink before saying, “Anything in particular you would like to know?”

There was a lot Harry wanted to know, apparently, because he was loaded with questions, and it was a little comical how interested Harry seemed in the answers, and how impressed he was each time. Liam thought maybe he should pay better attention to what was being said and make sure Louis wasn't making fabrications because Louis was a great guy, but he wasn't _that_ outstanding, and there was nothing wrong with that. He was a pretty normal guy, besides his better-than-average looks, but Harry was looking at him like he was an actual king of the world or something.

Soon, it was Harry's turn to answer Louis' questions, and he didn't have as many, but Harry didn't seem to mind. Again, it wasn't like Liam was paying that close of attention. He was too busy checking his phone, not wanting to miss a text or call from his boyfriend, but also to check the time and calculate _exactly_ how many minutes he had until he had to head home, even though it was more than two hours away. At one point, he felt eyes on him and looked up to see Zayn staring at him, a slight frown on his face.

“You okay?” he mouthed so the others wouldn't know. Liam smiled and nodded. Zayn nodded too and then went back to not paying attention to the others as well.

As soon as their food arrived, Liam's stomach growled, but it couldn't be heard over the clattering of dishes and the boys thanking the waitress, so when she asked Liam if he was still doing all right, he thanked her as well and told her that he was just fine.

“Here you go,” Zayn spoke then, moving his drink so that he could push his two appetizer baskets in the middle of them. “Eat up.”

“Um...what?” Liam asked.

His mouth full from a nacho he'd just shoved in there, Zayn pointed to the two baskets. Liam laughed nervously.

“Oh, I'm good, thanks.”

Zayn gave Liam an unreadable look, swallowed his food and said, “I got appetizers so we could share. Go on. One cheat day won't kill you.”

“It's nothing to do with the fitness thing,” Liam said. “I'm not even like that anymore.”

_Avery didn't make him be like that anymore._

“Great. So you should definitely try the wings. They're amazing. Unless you're a vegetarian, of course, but if so, I ordered the nachos meatless.”

Zayn had actually thought about Liam's possible dietary needs. That was so sweet that Liam almost wanted to cry. He didn't, of course.

“Thanks, but I'm not a vegetarian,” Liam said, caving in and grabbing a chicken wing. Zayn smiled. He had a beautiful smile.

“The nachos are still good too though,” he said. “You should try one or two. Or however many you want.”

Liam just laughed, not wanting to commit himself to eating any yet, but also not ready to reject the offer again.

“So, Zayn, what's your story?” Louis asked.

“What's my story?”

“Yeah. Work, school, and so on.”

“I'm a bartender,” Zayn said, “but just to get me through school and I'm almost done. I only have one semester left.”

“What are you going for?” Liam asked, deciding to chance one nacho. Zayn smiled again.

“Art.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“And what do you want to do after you graduate?”

“Well, I want to sell my paintings, but I'll probably have to teach or something too. I know it isn't a promising major.”

“Nothing is promised,” Liam pointed out.

“Yeah,” Zayn agreed. “You're right. What about you then, Liam?”

“There isn't much to say about me,” Liam said with a shrug. “I'm a house husband.”

Zayn's eyebrow quirked up. “A house husband?”

“A house husband that's still waiting on the ring,” Louis added, laying a hand on Liam's shoulder to soften the blow.

“How long have you two been together?” Zayn asked.

“Three years.”

“Do you want to marry the guy?”

“Of course.”

“Then why don't you pop the question?”

Liam snorted because that thought was absolutely ridiculous. He told Zayn so.

“I don't see why,” the other guy commented.

“You would just have to know Avery,” Liam said.

“Hmm,” Zayn hummed. “So what does Avery do that allowed you to be a house boyfriend?”

“He's a doctor,” Liam answered, ignoring what may or may not have been a jab at his own 'title.'

“Wow,” Zayn said, eyes widening and looking impressed.

“Yeah, he's really smart,” Liam bragged.

“Apparently so.”

“Okay, can we talk about literally anyone or anything else besides Avery?” Louis interrupted. Liam rolled his eyes.

“My best friend and my boyfriend hate each other,” he explained. “It's a struggle.”

“Is that so?” Zayn asked, looking between the two, intrigued.

“Yes. Next subject,” Louis said.

When the checks came, Liam and Louis were both surprised to find that Harry had somehow told them to put his and Louis' bills together. Louis turned pink when he found out and thanked Harry profusely. In turn, Harry turned pink as well. Zayn and Liam smiled at each other from across the table.

“Harry has to take me to work,” Zayn said as the group exited the restaurant. “My room mate is borrowing my car. If you two want, you can follow him and I'll give you a couple drinks on the house.”

“I actually have to get home before nine,” Liam said, “and the sooner the better. Thank you though.”

“You have a curfew?” Zayn asked, taking a cigarette out of his pocket and sticking it in his mouth, but not yet lighting it.

“Of course not,” Liam said. “It's just that my boyfriend will be getting off work soon, so...”

“So have him join us.”

Liam laughed a bit too loudly.

“Um, no. I mean, he won't want to do that. He had a twelve-hour today, so he'll be tired.”

“If he's tired, he'll probably just go to bed,” Zayn rationalized. “You can't stay out and have fun while he sleeps?”

“No. Well, I mean, I _could,_ of course, but I should really be getting home.”

“Okay,” he said finally, lighting his cigarette. “Anyone else want one?”

Everyone else declined, so Zayn went along smoking happily by himself.

“Louis, you're still welcome to come after you take him home,” he offered.

“I might. Where do you work?”

“The Light Bar. It's actually a nightclub, but just tell them you're with Z and Haz and they'll let you in for free.”

“You should come by,” Harry added.

“Yeah, okay. I'll be there,” Louis said. Harry beamed.

“Great,” Zayn said. “I'll see you soon then. Liam...it was nice to meet you. Good luck on getting that ring, if that's what you really want.”

“It was nice to meet you too,” Liam said with a smile.

“See you in a little bit!” Harry called excitedly to Louis as the pairs went their separate ways. “Bye Liam!”

“Oh my god,” Louis breathed once he and Liam were back in his car.

“That went well, didn't it?” Liam asked.

“Liam, I think I'm in love,” Louis said. His friend laughed.

“I shouldn't go to the club,” Louis said then.

“Wait, what?” Liam asked. “Lou, that makes no sense.”

“If it goes no further than this, I won't end up hurt.”

“Lou,” Liam sighed. “You're going to the club.”

“Do you know how many attractive people there are going to be at the club? And Harry's gorgeous, he could have them all. He won't miss me.”

“You met him on a dating app, so I don't think it's that easy for him to meet people,” Liam pointed out. “He obviously really likes you, Louis, so you better go.”

“Or what?” Louis teased, but Liam was serious as he answered.

“Or you'll just hurt the both of you.”

***

Liam had had every intention of telling Avery the truth, he really had, but when he came home, he was already tired and grumpy, and so Liam chickened out; instead making him some dinner and tea and putting him to bed. He felt guilty, but nothing had happened while out, so maybe they were just better off if he didn't know.

Louis did go to the club, as his many drunk pictures to Liam verified. Some of the pictures were of him and Harry posing weirdly for the camera. Others were of whatever he happened to be drinking at the time and, yet still, some were creeper shots of Zayn.

 _Are you going to need a ride home?_ Liam messaged after Louis sent one particular picture in which one eye was much more open than the other. He didn't receive a reply for a while, but then his phone started vibrating spasmodically, announcing that he had a call. Louis.

Jumping out of bed, Liam hurried downstairs, answering the call at the last possible second.

“Hello?” he whispered.

“Is this Liam with the boyfriend?”

“Yeah...Zayn?”

“Yep. Hey.”

“Hey. Where's Louis?”

On cue, Liam heard a terrible retching sound in the background and cringed.

“Beautiful.”

“It's not my fault, I swear,” Zayn said with a small laugh. Then he said a soft, “Shh, Lou, it's okay.” Back to Liam, “The other bartender thought it would be a great idea to get them completely trashed on the first date so they could quote-unquote, 'air their dirty laundry and get it out of the way.'”

“By the sounds of it, something he was given had tequila in it.”

“Oh yes.”

“Louis!” another voice in the background cried. Harry. “Louis, I'm sorry! It was supposed to be a _fun_ date!”

“I need to come get them, don't I?” Liam asked, amused, but his anxiety starting to rise.

“Could you please?” Zayn asked. “If not, I'm sure I can find someone else, but I just figured, since he's sick, Louis would be more comfortable with you.”

“Yeah, it's no problem,” Liam said, hoping that would be true. “What did you say the name of the club is again?”

Zayn repeated it.

“Okay. I'll be there as soon as I can.”

“Great. Thanks. Just say you're there to pick up Harry and Louis and they'll let you in for free. Shit, they may even _pay_ you to come take them away.”

***

To Liam's surprise, Avery was cool about lending him the car to pick up the drunks, the only stipulation being that if one or both of them puked inside of it, Liam was to clean it up. He also insisted that Liam bring the boys back there, as 'drunk people shouldn't be alone,' which shocked Liam, but he wasn't going to argue, of course.

Zayn looked up when Liam approached the bar, smiling as he set the drink he had just mixed in front of a patron before turning back to Liam.

“They're in the bathroom,” he explained. “Louis was conscious and laughing at something Harry said when I came out here, so don't worry, I think he's okay.”

“Yeah, he's fine,” Liam assured him. “Louis just has issues with tequila.”

“Many people do. I would offer you something, but seeing as you have to drive two drunks home, that would probably be a bad idea.”

“Probably.”

“Rain check?”

Liam smiled, not answering either way.

“I guess I should be getting them home.”

“Yeah,” Zayn agreed, smile faltering a little bit. Liam didn't think anything of it. “Bathroom is right over there.”

Liam headed to where Zayn pointed, preparing himself for the worst, but when he entered, the boys were only taking mirror selfies. The little bit of makeup Louis had been wearing was either smudged or completely off, and Liam hoped Harry was just as drunk as Louis, or he was going to literally hate himself in the morning.

“Liam!” Louis exclaimed when he saw his best friend's reflection in the mirror. “Come to join the party?”

“No. I've come to take you home.”

“Oh. Harry too?”

“Yeah.”

“Yay! Come on, Harry.”

By the way Harry was walking, Liam concluded that he was, in fact, just as drunk as Louis, and he held one of each boy's hands as he led them out.

“I'm taking them to Avery's place,” Liam informed Zayn before leaving.

“But...you live there too, right?” Zayn asked.

“Well, yeah.”

“Then isn't it your place too?”

Liam shrugged. “I don't pay for anything.”

“Huh...”

Zayn stared until Liam shifted uncomfortably, and then he smiled.

“Okay then. I'll be in touch tomorrow about picking up Harry and getting Louis his car.”

“That's fine. Oh, but Zayn?”

“Yeah?”

“When you come get him tomorrow, you can't act like we've met before.”

“Why…?”

“Because Avery can't know I went out tonight, besides to pick them up.”

“Again...Why?”

“He's just a little on the jealous side is all.”

Zayn raised an eyebrow, but Liam didn't give him a chance to reply. With a smile, he said,

“Well, I better be going! Talk to you soon?”

“Hold on, I'll take my smoke break and help you get them to the car.”

“Oh, that's okay. I can handle them.”

“Okay, well, I need a cigarette, so humor me.”

So Liam did, allowing Zayn to lead Harry out as he took Louis, who really didn't need that much help.

“Nice car,” Zayn commented as the drunks clambered in, giggling as they hit heads.

“It's Avery's,” Liam explained.

“Naturally,” Zayn commented, taking a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it.

“Well...have a good rest of the night,” Liam said awkwardly.

“You too, Liam. Stay safe.”

Liam almost asked why Zayn decided to put that last sentiment in there, but then thought the better of it.

When he climbed into the car, Harry and Louis were still giggling about something. Liam smiled, deciding not to ask about that either.

“You're so amazing,” Harry commented, and, glancing in the review mirror, Liam saw him looking at Louis just as he had in the restaurant, if not more lovey-dovey. “How are you single?”

“My ex-boyfriend cheated on me,” Louis said. Liam almost hit his head against the steering wheel.

“What a dick,” Harry said. “We should send a pile of shit to his door.”

Louis laughed so hard that he snorted.

“Is that expensive?” he asked.

“I have no idea,” Harry admitted.

“Hey, Liam, if it's expensive, do you want to pitch in on sending shit to Tim's door?”

“Sure, Louis,” Liam decided to humor him. Louis giggled and then, to Harry, said,

“So what about you? Why are _you_ still single?”

“My ex used to beat me up sometimes.”

Both Louis and Liam gasped, which was a bad idea on Louis' part.

“Bucket!” Liam yelled frantically, feeling around the backseat blindly for the bucket he had thrown back there.

“I'm okay,” Louis said after a moment. “Harry, that's...that's terrible.”

“It's whatever,” Harry said, like that kind of thing was a natural part of one's relationship. Well, for Liam, it was, but he wasn’t so much in denial as to think it was normal. Harry continued, “I left him after the third time anyway. I should have left after the first, or the second in the least, but you know, I was young and dumb and thought I was in love and all that.”

“I know what his punishment should be,” Louis said.

“What's that?” Harry asked.

“We should hook him up with Avery.”

“Louis!” Liam exclaimed, but Louis paid him no attention.

“Liam's boyfriend?” Harry verified, confusion in his voice.

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Because he beats Liam up sometimes too.”

“No he doesn't!” Liam protested.

“At least twice,” Louis insisted.

“He didn't _beat_ me.”

(Not that Louis needed to know anyway.)

“Well, he still hit you.”

“Liam, that's not good,” Harry said.

“I'm fine,” Liam said. “Avery's a good guy.”

Liam could practically hear Louis rolling his eyes, but then he sniffled.

“Louis, what's wrong?!” Harry asked.

“It's just so sad!” Louis cried. Wonderful. The drunk crying had begun. “Liam doesn't deserve that and you didn't deserve that! What the fuck?!”

“Don't cry!” Harry said, though Liam was convinced he had now started to cry too. It was going to be a long car ride.

***

Avery was sitting up in bed, waiting for Liam's return when he finally had Louis and Harry situated in the guest room.

“What took you so long?” he asked as Liam crawled in bed and collapsed onto his stomach, his head in the cool pillow.

“The club was a bit away.”

“Not that far.”

“Well, I don't know, babe. I had to go in and find them and stuff.”

“Hm. Did you stay and have a drink or anything?”

“No, of course not.”

“Don't talk to me like that.”

“Sorry. But no, I didn't stay. I went in, found them and left.”

“Okay.”

Avery laid back down next to him and gave Liam what should have been a passionate kiss, but Liam knew he wasn't kissing him just to be kissing him. He was searching-tasting-for any hints of alcohol or another man.

***

Though Avery was on his best behavior the next day, cooking breakfast for his boyfriend and their guests and placing lots of gentle kisses all over said boyfriend's face, Liam still felt the tension; the topic they had discussed last night hovering over them. Luckily, Louis kept his attitude in check and Harry was polite, if forcibly so, and didn't say a word about what Louis had told him.

When Zayn came by to pick the boys up the next day, they were all in the living room, watching some Christmas movie since the holiday was only a few short weeks away. Louis and Harry were cuddled underneath the same blanket, quite close, and it was adorable.

“You can get that, sweetie,” Avery said, patting Liam on the shoulder before removing his arm from around him. Liam stood, stretching a bit before heading quickly to the door.

“Hello!” Zayn greeted with a wide smile when Liam had opened it. “I'm Zayn, Harry's mate.”

Liam frowned, wondering why Zayn felt the need to re-introduce himself, before he remembered that, hello, he had told him to act like they were strangers. Zayn was so smart. Liam was so stupid.

“Oh. Hey,” Liam greeted back belatedly. “Yeah, they're just in the other room. Come on in.”

“Do I need to take my shoes off?”

“Do you…? No.”

“Just checking. Your place is really nice.”

“It's actually my boyfriend's place.”

“Ah...”

“Hey, Z,” Harry said when the two entered the room, and Harry stood and folded the blanket he had been using before handing it to Avery.

“Hey, you couple of party animals, you,” Zayn teased. “How are you feeling?”

“I'm fine,” Harry said.

“I puked it all up at the club, so I'm good,” Louis agreed.

“Glad to hear it.”

Looking to Avery, Zayn's smile grew.

“So sorry, I just come barging into your living room and don't introduce myself. I'm Zayn.”

“Avery,” the doctor replied, politely standing to shake Zayn's hand. Zayn's eyes scanned over him-and his over Zayn's-and they both smiled. Liam held in his sigh.

“Well, Avery,” Zayn said, “apparently this is your place, so thanks for letting my mate crash here last night.”

“Oh, it was no trouble. Hey, maybe we can all get together and go on a triple date sometime.”

Liam felt Louis' eyes dart to him, but pointedly ignored the stare.

“Well, I'm single, so…,” Zayn said, and then, “but, yeah, maybe we'll all see each other around.”

Turning to Liam, Zayn said, “Thanks for picking the boys up last night. It was nice to meet you…um...Actually, I don't think I got a name.”

Liam's eyes widened, at a loss for what to do then. Avery typically didn't like when he gave his name to strangers.

After glancing nervously to his boyfriend, Avery laughed and said,

“His name is Liam. He's a bit shy, sorry.”

“You're shy, Liam?” Louis asked. “Who would have known?”

“There's nothing wrong with that,” Zayn interjected quickly. “Anyway, it was nice to meet you both. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

“Thank you, you three as well,” Avery said.

After all of the goodbyes were said and Liam followed them to lock up the door after their exit, he heard Avery sigh loudly from the living room and went back to check on him.

“Everything okay?”

“Just fine, Cupcake,” Avery said, smiling from his position back on the couch. “He was cute.”

“Harry? Yeah, he and Louis seemed to be hitting it off really well too.”

“Not Harry. I mean, he was a lot more attractive than what I imagined, but I meant Zayn.”

“Oh.”

Liam knew better than to agree, so Avery continued.

“I didn't know they made them like that around here.”

 _Ouch._ Okay, Liam already knew he wasn't anything special; just average height, average weight, average face and below average brains, but that didn’t mean that it didn't hurt when his own boyfriend pointed it out.

Picking up on the fact that he was hurt, Avery patted the seat next to him, inviting Liam to sit, which he did.

“I love you, baby,” the older man said, wrapping an arm around Liam's shoulder and nipping his ear lightly with his teeth. “You know that you're my everything, Cupcake, right?”

“I know,” Liam said. “I love you too.”

“Kiss me.”

So Liam did.

***

“...So he took me out to lunch and then we went to the movies and we played in the arcade for almost two hours once the film was over and then we went to dinner and then he dropped me back off and he kissed me good night and then I called you!”

Liam laughed, pretty sure Louis didn't take a single breath throughout that huge run-on sentence.

“Was he a good kisser?” he asked.

“Yes! He was so amazing!”

“I'm taking it you're seeing him again then?”

“Yes! We're going to lunch again tomorrow and then this weekend we're going to the mall to Christmas shop together!”

“That's great, Lou! I'm so happy for you.”

“Thanks!”

Saturday-their double date-had now been three whole days ago, but Louis and Harry had been together so much that Liam wondered if their date ever actually ended.

“Is Avery home?” Louis asked then.

“No...Why?”

“Because I want to talk about Zayn!”

“...Why…?”

“He's cute, isn't he?”

Liam shifted uncomfortably. Avery wasn't home, but Liam still didn't feel right talking about another guy. It was bad enough that he had been thinking about Zayn almost constantly since Saturday night.

“Do you want Zayn instead of Harry now?” Liam teased instead of answering.

“Of course not. I'm talking about for you.”

“I have a boyfriend.”

“A dickhead boyfriend.”

“He's not a dick head.”

“I am your best friend and so I am entitled to my opinion. But Harry agrees with me, by the way.”

“Harry was around him for, like, three hours and he was being sweet!”

“He was being overly sweet, which nine times out of ten means the person is actually an arse.”

“Whatever. I'm not talking about this anymore.”

“Zayn thinks you're cute.”

“Yeah right.”

“He does. Actually, he described you as 'hotter than hell,' but..you know.”

“He was checking out Avery,” Liam said, though his cheeks burned.

“He was checking out his competition.”

“Bullshit, Lou.”

“Seriously! We went to his place that night for pizza, beer and football and he thought we were just as drunk as him, I guess, and he said something about not being able to compete with the cute doctor who could give you the fancy house and fancy car.”

“That didn't happen.”

“It did! I was there!”

“Well, either way, I love Avery.”

(Liam still doubted that even happened.)

“Wish I knew why,” Louis sighed in reply to what Liam said. Liam didn't reward that with a response.

***

The next Sunday, Zayn and his room mate, Niall, were having a football-watching party and they invited Liam and Avery as well. Typically, Avery wouldn't go to something like that, but he wanted Zayn, so of course he agreed. Liam wanted to hate Zayn because he knew that it was very possible he may one day steal his boyfriend, but he couldn't hate him. He couldn't even mildly dislike him.

Avery and Liam arrived last, mainly because Avery liked to be fashionably late, but Zayn's eyes still lit up when he opened the door to his apartment and saw them standing there. (Well, they lit up at Avery, at least.)

“Hey, guys!” he greeted. “Come on in. Glad you could make it.”

“Yeah, of course. Thanks for inviting us,” Avery said, stepping in front of Liam to follow Zayn in. It backfired on him though because Zayn stayed back to hold onto the door and close it behind Liam.

“Sorry my apartment isn't nearly as nice as your place,” Zayn commented humorously.

“It's fine,” Avery assured him.

“I think it's nice,” Liam commented, and then glanced to Avery nervously. The doctor's expression was unreadable.

“Thank you,” Zayn spoke to either of them. “Pizza and beer are in the kitchen.”

Zayn's room mate was also in the kitchen and nodded to the newcomers, his mouth full of pizza.

“That classy bloke right there is Niall,” he said. “Niall, this is Avery and Liam.”

“Nice to meet you,” Niall said after a hard swallow. The two returned the sentiment. “The games on in the other room,” Niall continued. “Grab some pizza and come join the party.”

The guys already knew where the game was playing, as they had to pass it to enter the kitchen, but they thanked the other guy anyway as he picked up his plate and a bottle of beer and went back to the TV.

“Help yourselves,” Zayn told the guests.

“Want any, babe?” Avery asked as he separated two paper plates and put them on the counter by the stove, where the food was.

“Um...sure,” Liam said.

“How many pieces?”

“Just one is fine, thanks.”

Avery put one piece on both plates.

“Any beer?” he asked.

“No thank you.”

The last time Liam had drank had been at the restaurant Avery had taken him to not too long ago, and he had apparently inadvertently flirted with the waiter, who hadn't been nearly as attractive as Zayn, so Liam didn't trust himself.

“Okay,” Avery said, grabbing one for himself.

“We also have coke or water. The water is filtered,” Zayn told him.

“Water is fine, thanks,” Liam said, and Zayn poured him a glass. Liam thanked him again and Zayn nodded before leading them to the television where the game was playing.

Louis was a huge football fan, so it said something about Harry that Louis was kissing him rather than watching the game.

“Ah, fresh love,” Zayn commented, stepping over the lovers, who were side-by-side on the floor, to get to the couch. Liam and Avery followed suit, Avery sitting in the middle, naturally.

“So, who's winning?” the doctor asked, though it wasn't like he would know who was who anyway.

Commercial breaks were spent with Avery and Zayn talking and getting to know each other, though Zayn was polite enough to try to incorporate Liam sometimes.

“Shit, sorry, guys,” Avery said when his phone started to ring nearly an hour later. It felt like three hours to Liam.

Standing, Avery answered his phone on his way to the kitchen. Zayn and Liam both watched him go, but then Zayn turned his head to Liam, smiling. Liam only half returned it, and Zayn's smile faltered a bit.

“Tired?” he mouthed, and it was a good thing Liam was good at reading lips. He shook his head.

“Li, you ready to go, babe?” Avery asked, returning from the kitchen just a few moments later. “That was the hospital. I have to go in.”

“Oh, okay,” Liam said, starting to stand, but then Louis spoke up.

“I can take him home,” he said. “That way you can save time and get directly to work.”

“It's okay,” Avery said. “I have to go home and get my stuff anyway.”

“You don’t keep it in your trunk?” Louis asked, tilting his head innocently when Liam knew damn well that Louis knew he did. Avery frowned.

“Oh. Yeah, I guess I do have it with me. Good call, Louis.”

Louis smiled, his nose wrinkling up, before he turned around to give Harry yet another kiss.

“How much have you had to drink though?” Avery continued.

“Only a couple,” Louis answered. “I'll be fine and, besides, we'll be here for at least another hour probably.”

“Okay.”

Avery turned to Liam.

“I guess Louis is taking you home then.”

Liam nodded. Avery stepped over the couple on the floor again to lean down and press a hard kiss to Liam's lips.

“Love you, baby.”

“I love you too.”

Zayn saw Avery out the door and then came over to plop right back down on the couch, closer to Liam that time.

“Do you want a drink now that he's gone?”

“Oh, no, I'm fine, thanks.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

“What happened to you, Liam?” Louis asked, turning slightly to look at his friend. “You used to drink more than _me_!”

“I just didn't feel good yesterday and don't feel like that would be the best idea.”

It wasn't a lie, necessarily.

“What was wrong?” Zayn asked, looking much more concerned than necessary. _No_ concern was necessary.

“I just didn't feel great,” Liam said with a shrug. “It happens a lot, don't worry.”

“Actually, I think that's a reason _to_ worry, Liam,” Zayn insisted. “Maybe you should see a doctor.”

“I _am_ seeing a doctor,” Liam reminded him with a smile. Zayn didn't return it.

“Right,” he said. “Well, maybe you should have him check you out for medical purposes and not just bedroom purposes.”

“He knows about it and he's not worried. It's nothing. I'm probably just a hypochondriac.”

“Uh-huh….Well, anyway, do you want another slice of pizza, at least?”

“No, thank you. I'm fine.”

Liam's stomach growled, betraying him.

“Okay, well maybe one more.”

Zayn laughed, patting Liam's knee before standing and heading to the kitchen. Feeling warm, Liam followed him. He wasn't going to have Zayn serve him.

“So on a scale of one to ten, how into this game are you?” Zayn asked as Liam put another piece of pizza on his old plate.

“Um...two?”

Zayn laughed again.

“Yeah, I'm not really a football person, but Niall insists that's how we spend every Sunday. Do you like video games?”

“Yeah.”

“Want to bail on the TV and go play something?”

“Sure?”

“Awesome. You can bring your pizza back there. Come on.”

Zayn led Liam right past the living room and back to where the bedrooms were. Louis cat-called. They ignored him.

“What kind of games do you like?” Zayn asked when they entered his bedroom, only half shutting the door behind them.

“I'm not picky,” Liam said, distracted by all of the drawings and paintings on Zayn's walls. “Did you do these?”

“Oh, yeah,” Zayn said, looking embarrassed. “Most of them are older, so they're not that great. I've gotten a bit better since then.”

“How? These are amazing.”

“Thank you. Um...Call of Duty, Need for Speed, or Guitar Hero?”

Liam chose Guitar Hero, and it took him a couple of songs to get used to it again-he hadn't played it in forever-but once he did, he managed to beat Zayn a few times. Not that they were keeping score, though. They were just playing, laughing, cussing and occasionally distracting the other to make them mess up. Eventually, the other boys joined, and before they knew it, hours had passed.

“My fingers are going to fall off,” Louis announced. Harry smirked. “You're gross,” Louis added, but then gave him a kiss. Smiling-this was the first time Liam had seen Louis really happy in two whole years-he reached into his pocket to get his phone, and panicked when he saw four missed messages.

“Lou, can we go?” he asked, almost outwardly cringing at the higher tone his voice had taken on.

“What's wrong?” Louis asked, frowning at both his friend and the mobile device he was holding.

“Nothing. Just...Avery is home already and is probably going to want to eat dinner soon.”

“Okay…,” Louis said, like he had no idea why that concerned Liam. Luckily, he didn't press it. “Yeah, let's go.”

The group said their goodbyes, all agreeing that they would have to get together again soon.

Louis wasn't very talkative in the car, which wasn't like him, but when asked, he assured Liam that he was fine. Liam didn't press it, and didn't trust himself to speak much anyway, what with his heart in his throat and all.

“Ave!” he called as soon as he'd gotten into the house, not even bothering to shrug off his jacket. “Bear! Where are you?! I'm so sorry, we were playing video games and I didn't feel my phone vibrate!”

“In the bedroom,” Avery called. That was where Liam had been heading anyway, but he hurried more until he reached the doorway and stopped, knowing that look on his boyfriend's face as he stood beside the bed, arms crossed.

“Why was your phone on silent, Liam?”

“I don't know. I guess I just forgot to switch it back when I woke up this morning.”

“You should always have the ring tone on, at least for me.”

“I know. I'm sorry.”

Avery took slow, purposeful steps to stand in front of Liam, whose back, neck and shoulders were starting to ache from how tense he was. Avery stared him down for a few long seconds before he raised his hand and smacked him right across the cheek. Liam barely grunted and he blinked the tears in his eyes away quickly. The smack hadn't even hurt; not really. He was just pathetic, but it didn't hurt.

It didn't.

“I said I was sorry,” Liam said softly, and Avery raised his hand again, making Liam flinch back, but he didn't smack him again. Instead, he pushed him out of the room until his back was against the banister. Liam's heart was pounding out of his chest. “Avery, please, I'll leave the ringer on for now on, even when I'm sleeping, I swear!”

“That’s not what this is about anymore, Liam,” Avery said, like Liam was stupid to assume such a thing.

“Then what is it?”

“You think I'm stupid.”

“No, I don't; not at all! Why do you think that?”

“You think I didn't see it.”

“See what?!”

Liam didn't even see the smack coming that time; just felt the sting, but, again, it really didn't hurt all that much.

“I know you want Niall, Liam!”

Liam was silent for a few moments, not because it was true-Niall was attractive, but Liam didn't have _those_ feelings for him-but because he couldn't, for the life of him, figure out what gave Avery such an idea.

“I...I don't.”

“You can't even say it without stuttering!”

“Avery, I don't want Niall!” Liam exclaimed, verging on real tears. He wanted to wipe them away, but he was clinging to the front of Avery's shirt to keep from toppling down to the first floor, so he just let himself look like the pathetic child that he was. “I only want you, Bear, please.”

“I treat you so well, Liam.”

“I know.”

“No one else would put up with you and your shit like I do.”

“I know.”

“Say you love me.”

“I love you.”

“Say you need me.”

“I need you.”

Avery pulled Liam away from the banister and shoved him to the ground, but that was fine. He could have pushed Liam over the edge if he'd really wanted to hurt him.

For a few moments, Avery just stood over Liam, who was propped up on one arm on the floor, head down, but then the doctor dropped to his knees, crawling over to his boyfriend and cradling his face in his hands, gently making him look up at him.

“Baby, I'm sorry!” the older man cried. “I just...I just lost it for a second. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, Ave, I'm fine,” Liam said, forcing a small smile.

“I know I scared you, baby, I'm sorry. But you know I would never really hurt you, right? Not again.”

“I know, love, it's fine. I'm fine.”

“I love you so much, baby boy, I just...I can't lose you.”

“You're not going to lose me, Bear,” Liam assured his boyfriend, kissing him first that time. “Not ever.”

***

Liam first met Avery at a college party. It was Liam's second year in the school and Avery's first year out of school with a degree, but, as he had friends still attending, he still crashed some parties, which no one was complaining about. He brought the best booze and was quite nice to look at. He was kind of a prodigy, Liam learned, though, at the time, he hadn't heard of him.

As luck would have it, Liam was spectacularly drunk that night. School had always been a struggle for him. He had to work three times as hard as everyone else to get even middle marks, but college was a different story entirely. It was a struggle then not to completely flunk out; a struggle that was slowly getting the best of Liam. So why shouldn't he party? That was the only thing he seemed good at doing.

Their story was the plot set-up of almost every romantic comedy ever, or so it seemed; drunk guy spills liquor on the hot, popular guy, apologizes and then lets himself get wooed into bed.

It was too bad that there was nothing comedic about their story anymore.

Maybe Liam should have been worried from the beginning because after they had finished their second round, Avery had bitten Liam on the neck and said, “I don't want you doing that with anyone else ever again, okay? You're mine.”

The intensity of the words were forgotten by the time Liam passed out and woke up the next morning, though.

Avery did take him on an actual date a couple days later, and was the textbook definition of 'charming.' Liam fell hard and fast. He introduced him to his parents and sisters, who loved him as well, and the same went for Avery's family.

Avery knew how much of a struggle school was for Liam, and saw how much it was stressing him out, so he finally convinced him to just leave school the next semester. The first time he had asked, Liam had said no. That was also the first time Avery hit him. He'd cried afterward and apologized profusely, telling Liam that he loved him and hated seeing him so stressed out. He also wanted them to get their lives in order as a couple so in a few years, once he had a good amount of money saved up, they could start a family. No one had ever dreamed of a future with Liam before, and so he would be stupid to not agree a second time. Besides, he loved Avery and hated school, so if he absolutely had to choose between the two, the choice was easy.

Liam couldn't even remember why or when Avery hit him for the second time, but he was sure it was for good reason.

***

The next time Liam saw Zayn (or Harry or Niall or anyone besides Louis) was at Louis' birthday party. His birthday was on Christmas Eve, but he was having his party a couple days earlier. It was the first time he was celebrating in a while, and he'd said he didn't need anything, but Harry insisted on throwing him a party anyway. The party was at Zayn's place of employment, though he wasn't working that night.

Avery was pulling an all-nighter at the hospital, but Liam was granted permission to go to the party still, mainly because Avery knew Louis would have words with him if not. He'd wanted Liam to fake sick, but as Liam had really been sick and unable to go to Zayn and Niall's when they were invited to another football Sunday that past week, Avery concluded it would be too suspicious if Liam was suddenly sick again.

He'd given Liam another good smack for that inconvenience too, but between the make-up and the strobe lights, the bruise would be invisible.

Since Louis was, understandably, planning on getting drunk off his ass, Zayn was Liam's chauffeur that night with the agreement that if Zayn got too drunk, Liam would drive them back and let him crash at Avery's place. It had been Avery's idea, actually.

Five minutes before Zayn was scheduled to pick Liam up, the doorbell rang. Liam opened it to see that it was the driver.

“Oh,” he said in surprise. “Hey...I told you that you could just text me when you were outside.”

“I know, but that felt rude. Are you ready?”

“Almost. I just have to put my shoes on.”

“Take your time.”

“Would you like to come in?”

“Sure, thanks.”

Zayn stepped in, giving Liam a big whiff of his cologne, which smelled good. Like, really good.

Liam cleared his throat.

“I'll be right back.”

“Okay.”

When Liam got back downstairs, shoes on his feet, Zayn was studying the pictures that the couple had hanging on the wall in the front entryway, a very small smile on his face.

“You really love him, don't you?” he asked when he felt Liam's presence behind him.

“Yeah,” Liam said, and then, “I'm sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?” Zayn asked, turning to Liam with a frown.

“Well, I mean, I know you kind of want Avery, and it's okay. I just hope you don't hate me because of it.”

“I don't hate you, Liam,” Zayn said, speaking slowly and looking at the other man as if he had lost his mind. “And I don't want Avery.”

“Really?” Liam asked, quite surprised by that statement.

“Really. Not at all. I mean, no offense to your boyfriend, but…no.”

“Oh,” Liam said, spirits lifting a little. “Okay then. I'm ready to go whenever you are!”

***

“Thanks for driving me,” Liam said once in the car. “I know it's kind of out of the way.”

“It's no problem,” Zayn assured him. “How are you feeling, by the way?”

“Oh, fine. Yeah, I'm completely better now.”

“What was wrong?”

“Just a really bad migraine is all.”

“Do you get those a lot?”

“Kind of, yeah.”

“Have you tried putting a bag of frozen peas on the back of your neck when that happens?”

“What? No...Why would I do that?”

“It alleviates some of the pressure.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I'm surprised Avery hadn't heard of that, being a doctor.”

“Maybe he just forgot to mention it,” Liam said with a shrug.

“Maybe,” Zayn agreed. “I'm glad you're feeling better though.”

“Thank you.”

“You're welcome.”

***

Louis and Harry were already quite buzzed by the time the two arrived, but Harry's sister had come along to be their designated driver, so that was fine.

“Don't worry,” Zayn said. “I told the bartender no tequila for Louis.”

“Good,” Liam said, smiling.

“Would you like a drink?” Zayn offered.

“I'm the one staying sober tonight, remember?”

“Change of plans. You need to have a little fun. What do you like?”

“I don't know,” Liam said, wringing his hands nervously. Zayn gave him a look.

“I don't believe that.”

“I'm not picky,” Liam said, and then Zayn smiled, clapping the other on the shoulder. Liam flinched a little, but he didn't think it was noticeable.

“My kind of man,” he said. “Come on.”

Liam followed Zayn to the bar. The workers smiled when they saw Zayn approaching.

“Hey, Z.”

“Hey Brad, Tom. How's the night?”

“Typical Saturday night,” they said with a shrug.

“Yeah, man. Hey, this is Liam, by the way. He's Louis' best friend.”

The three exchanged pleasant hellos and nice to meet yous, and then one of the men-either Tom or Brad-asked,

“So what are you two drinking?”

“Two kamikaze shots, please.”

“Yes, sir.”

“This is all I'll have,” Zayn promised as he handed Liam one shot glass and kept one for himself.

“You're fine,” Liam assured him.

“Thank you,” Zayn said with a wink. Liam's cheeks burned.

“Sorry,” Zayn apologized. “Inappropriate. Anyways...cheers.”

The two clinked their glasses together and took the shot. Liam finished before Zayn, which the bartender looked quite surprised at.

“Damn. You're a pro.”

“You can't let me get too drunk, okay?” Liam asked. Zayn smiled.

“Don't worry, doll. I've got you.”

***

Staying true to his word, Zayn cut Liam off after three shots and a regular drink, which was still enough to get Liam tipsy, but he wasn't going to end up falling down or getting sick anywhere, so, as Liam saw it, Zayn kept his promise.

“I want to dance,” Liam announced as he and Zayn sat on one of the couches after Louis had opened presents and then took himself and Harry back out to the dance floor, where they had been the whole night when they weren't at the bar.

“Let's go dance then,” Zayn said.

“I don't want to embarrass you.”

“You won't embarrass me.”

“I embarrass Avery when I dance.”

“Well, luckily for you, I am not Avery.”

Zayn got to his feet, holding a hand out for the drunker man to take.

“May I have this dance, Liam?”

The way he said that was super funny to Liam and he giggle-snorted for a little bit, Zayn smiling and holding his hand out patiently, waiting for him to finish, and then Liam took his hand.

“Okay,” he said, “but you can't tell Avery.”

“I won't.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

“Cross your heart and hope to die?”

“Well I think Avery would actually kill me if he found out, so, yes, Liam.”

Liam giggled.

“He wouldn't kill you,” he assured Zayn as they walked hand-in-hand to a free space on the dance floor. “He would kill me.”

“And then I would kill him,” Zayn said. Liam giggled again, he and Zayn stopping and standing face-to-face, hands still together.

“You're funny.”

“I was being serious, but thank you.”

“You're also really pretty.”

“Thank you, Liam.”

“Don't tell Avery I said that.”

“I won't.”

“I love him.”

“I know.”

“Do you love anyone?”

“Hm...I may be getting to that point.”

Liam's mouth fell open before he beamed, excited.

“That's great!”

“I guess.”

“You guess?”

“Yeah. I mean, we're not together and he has a boyfriend, so...”

“Oh,” Liam said, smile turning to a small frown and his eyebrows pulling together. “But I thought you said-”

“It's not Avery,” Zayn interrupted, and Liam smiled again.

“How did you know I was going to say that?”

“I took a psychology class once and I'm basically an expert now,” Zayn said with a wink. Liam snorted.

“Let's dance,” he said, and they did.

***

Though Zayn wasn't at all drunk, he still decided to crash with Liam and Avery that night. Liam was a lot less drunk when they left the club, but Zayn stopped at a fast food chain to load him up on greasy calories to ensure he had no more than a mild hangover when he woke, if any at all.

“Thanks again for letting me stay,” Zayn commented as Liam led him to one of the two guest rooms.

“Oh, yeah. You're welcome,” Liam said, not adding that it had been completely Avery's call. “Thank you again for driving me.”

“You're welcome. I hope you had fun.”

“I did,” Liam assured him.

“Good. Hey, what time is Avery supposed to get home?”

“Any time now.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“Is there something you need?”

“No. I was just seeing if you could stay in here for a bit, but...yeah, I mean, no, you're probably tired.”

Liam tilted his head, which didn't help his vision any, but he didn't need to be able to see perfectly to know that something wasn't quite right.

“Are you okay, Zayn?” he asked.

“What?” Zayn asked, looking in Liam's eyes for only a second before beginning to rummage though his overnight bag. “Yeah, I'm fine.”

“Are you lonely?”

Zayn laughed.

“No, Liam. I'm okay, I promise. Are _you_ okay?”

“Why wouldn't I be okay?”

“No reason in particular.”

Liam was confused, but decided to drop it.

“I can stay for a little bit,” he said. “Jut let me change real quick.”

“Okay,” Zayn said, a big smile on his face again.

Liam hurried with changing, brushing his teeth and washing his face, but when he reached the guest room again, Zayn was already washed up himself, sitting cross-legged on the bed and messing with his phone. He looked up as soon as he felt Liam's presence and smiled, setting the mobile down on the nightstand before looking back to the other.

“You sure you're not too tired?” he asked.

“I'm fine,” Liam said, making his way to the bed and collapsing onto his stomach. He kept his face buried in the pillows for only a moment before rolling onto his side and smiling at Zayn. In turn, Zayn's smile actually faltered a little, his eyes skirting across Liam's face quickly before landing on one spot on his cheek.

“Liam…,” he began. “What happened?”

“What?” Liam asked, but then he remembered. _The bruise_. Shit, shit, shit.

Panicking, Liam decided to just play dumb.

“There's a big bruise right across your cheek, Liam,” Zayn said, his fingers ghosting over the area without actually touching the skin.

“There is?”

“Yes...there is.”

“Huh. I have no idea what happened,” Liam said nonchalantly. Zayn's frown grew deeper.

“You have no idea how you could have gotten a big bruise on your face?”

Well, when Zayn put it like that it, it did sound a little silly, so Liam changed his story.

“Oh, you know what? I rolled out of bed last night and hit the nightstand.”

“It doesn't look like...”

Trailing off, Zayn shook his head.

“I didn't see it earlier.”

“The club was dark.”

“Even before.”

“Well, I don't know, Zayn, but it's just a bruise. It will go away. I'm fine.”

After staring at Liam for a few long moments, Zayn finally laid down. Liam hoped that meant the conversation was over. He was very wrong.

“Does Avery hit you, Liam?”

Liam's heart palpitated.

 _Stay calm, Liam,_ he scolded himself silently. _You've lied your way out of this one before_.

“Does Avery hit me?!” he repeated like it was the most absurd thing in the world to even think of.

“Yeah.”

“Of course not! That's...crazy. No, Avery most certainly hasn't hit me and never will, and if he does, I'm gone. I wouldn't put up with that shit.”

A beat of silence passed.

“Okay.”

Liam almost outwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Almost.

“So tell me about the guy you like and almost love!” Liam spoke, voice much cheerier. Again, Zayn paused before saying anything.

“He's amazing,” he commented once he spoke. “I don't think he realizes it, but he is. He's funny and so nice and so gorgeous. He's...so many things.”

“Aww,” Liam cooed. “What's his name?”

“Liam.”

Liam laughed. “That's a funny coincidence.”

“Isn't it?”

“No, I guess not. My name is pretty common.”

Zayn laughed.

“I like your name.”

“Yeah, because it reminds you of your guy!”

“He's not my guy.”

“Does he know what he's missing out on?”

“I don't think he's missing out on anything. His boyfriend is, like, amazingly gorgeous-almost as much as him-and super successful, so I think he's happy. Or I hope so at least.”

“You don't think he really is?”

“I don't know. His boyfriend is kind of a dick, honestly.”

“That's not good,” Liam said. “He should definitely leave him for you.”

“I agree,” Zayn said with another small laugh. “The sexy rich guys usually win, though, so I'm not counting on it.”

“But you are sexy too, and you will be rich when you're a famous painter. It's not like any of those things really matter though.”

“Hmm. Maybe. Maybe not.”

Liam didn't have time to assure Zayn that they didn't because then the garage door went up, making Liam jump.

“I have to go.”

“I know.”

“Good night, Zayn.”

“Good night, Liam.”

***

When Liam woke the next morning, Avery was already up. It was after nine o' clock, so Zayn was probably gone, but Liam showered and covered his bruise just in case. Zayn had already seen it, but Avery didn't need to know that.

To his surprise, when he went downstairs, Zayn was still there, in the kitchen with Avery and scooping eggs out onto three different plates. Avery saw him enter first and smiled widely.

“'Morning, baby!” he greeted, rushing over to place a kiss on Liam's forehead. “You're up just in time for breakfast.”

“Smells good,” Liam said, smiling a little as well. “I'll get drinks. Zayn, what would you like?”

“Anything is fine,” Zayn said, shooting Liam a quick smile before getting the toast they had made onto the plates.

“Orange juice?”

“That works, thanks.”

Breakfast was quiet at first, the only noises the dinging of silverware, or cups knocking against plates. Finally, Avery turned to Liam.

“Did you have fun last night, baby?”

“Yeah, it was a lot of fun,” Liam said. “I wish you could have gone.”

He didn't, really, but it was the right thing to say.

“Me too.”

That was all that was said. Avery finished eating first and then announced that he was going to get his shower, as he and Liam had a lot of last minute Christmas shopping to do.

“Did you sleep all right?” Liam asked Zayn once Avery was upstairs.

“Yeah, I did, thanks,” Zayn said, and quickly finished off the rest of his orange juice. “I guess I should get going after I help you clean up.”

“You don't have to help,” Liam told him as he hurried to finish his meal himself. “I've got it.”

“I want to help,” Zayn assured him.

“I mean, we have a dishwasher, so it's really not a big deal.”

“Oh, I know. I wouldn't have offered to help if I thought I had to wash the dishes myself.”

Zayn winked and Liam smiled.

“The pan can't go in the dishwasher though.”

Zayn sighed dramatically. “Well, I _guess_ that won't be too much to handle.”

“I was joking. I can get it.”

“I know you were, but I've got it. It's really fine, Liam. Now stop eating so fast. You're going to make yourself sick.”

That was probably true, so Liam watched guiltily as Zayn rinsed off his and Avery's dishes before putting them in the dishwasher and filling the sink to wash the couple of items that couldn't be placed in there.

“Hey, Liam?” Zayn spoke again once the sink was about halfway full and he turned off the water to put the pan in.

“Hmm?” Liam hummed, his mouth full of egg.

“Do you think we could, like, exchange numbers? It would be nice to have someone else to talk to sometimes and, besides, you could call me if you ever, like, need to go somewhere and Avery has the car or something.”

Liam hesitated for a moment. Avery didn't really like him having other guys' numbers, but he supposed he could just do what he always did; text or call when Avery was gone and leave his phone on 'do not disturb' when he was there.

“Okay,” Liam said, taking his phone out of his pocket. “What's your number?”

Zayn recited it and Liam typed it in.

“Do you have your phone on you?” Liam asked then.

“In my pocket.”

“Okay. I'll text you so you have my number.”

“Cool. Thanks.”

Zayn finished the dishes as Liam finished breakfast, and Zayn gave him a small smile as Liam rinsed off his plate.

“I guess I'll go,” he said. “It sounds like you and Avery have a busy day ahead.”

“Yeah, probably,” Liam sighed, and then smiled. “Thanks again, for everything.”

“You're welcome. I'll see you soon?”

“Yeah, probably.”

Zayn nodded.

“I'll see you soon,” he said.

***

Both Liam and Avery's families went to their place on Christmas day, as they had the most room. Liam's family arrived first that year, and Avery greeted them with a loud, boisterous 'nice to see you' and huge hugs.

“Hi, Avery, dear!” Liam's mother exclaimed, kissing her son's boyfriend's cheek. Liam's family loved Avery even more as the years passed, with the exception of his sister Ruth, who liked him less and less for some reason, but she never made her mild dislike known to the doctor, which Liam was thankful for, though he didn't even know why she didn't like him in the first place.

“Hi, Karen!” Avery greeted the older woman again, and began conversing about the typical 'how are yous' and such while Liam's family took turns hugging him.

“Hey, baby brother!” Ruth said excitedly, giving Liam a hug so tight it hurt, though that was probably only because his back was sore from the fight he and Avery had gotten in the previous night.

“Hi, Roo,” Liam said, hiding his pain and hugging her back.

“Have you lost weight?” she asked, frowning as she pulled back from him and visually observed him.

“I don't know,” Liam said, shrugging nonchalantly. “I don't weigh myself. I don't think I've lost much, if any.”

“Okay,” she said, and didn't have time to press the matter because then Avery's family showed up.

Avery didn't have any siblings, but Liam was lucky enough that his parents seemed to like him and, as they sat down for dinner, his mother wasted no time in asking,

“So, boys, when is the wedding?”

“Mum,” Avery whined with a laugh. “We don't have one planned yet or you would know about it.”

“Well, Avery, it's been three years! How long are you going to make us wait?”

“Not much longer,” he said, smiling over at his boyfriend, whose heart picked up speed as a grin broke across his face. Avery had been saying 'not much longer' for about two years now, but maybe this time he meant it.

“I hope not, Avery,” the older man's mom said, smiling at Liam. “It would be a shame to lose this man because you can't commit.”

“I'm committed!” Avery insisted, one hand going to rest on Liam's knee. “I just wanted to wait until we had enough money to have the wedding of our dreams. Saving takes time, especially since we're saving for children as well.”

“Aww, grand babies!” Liam's mom cooed, and shared a look with Avery's mom, both of their hands clutched to their chests.

“Have you considered what route you'll go with having kids?” Liam's dad asked, taking a bite of his food, but staring at the boys curiously.

“I think we're going to have one each biologically and then adopt one or two,” Avery answered, and that was news to Liam, but it was a good plan. He smiled.

“Oh, I can't wait!” Avery's mom exclaimed.

“Let's get the wedding out of the way first,” her husband said with a laugh.

“And, Liam, don't you think it will be easier to finish school _before_ having kids?” Ruth asked. Immediately, all eyes went to him, and he shifted uncomfortably.

“I, um, I'm not going back,” he said. “I'm just going to, um, stay at home with the kids.”

He looked to Avery, who nodded, smiling. Ruth didn't seem satisfied.

“I thought you wanted to be a physical therapist?”

“I can't do that.”

“Why not?”

Oops. Wrong words.

“I mean, I just don't want to anymore.”

“You'll be a great stay-at-home dad,” Avery told him, placing a kiss to his cheek.

“He'd be a great physical therapist too,” Ruth said. A beat of awkward silence passed, and then Karen laughed nervously.

“I think it's great that there will always be someone home with the kids,” she said, and promptly changed the subject.

***

Liam's head hurt again. He wasn't exactly sure when it started, but now, once the distraction of dinner and presents was over, it was pounding, making him feel a little sick again. Typically, he wasn't the type to take medication-he liked to tough it out-but then, with both of their immediate families there and the knowledge that, soon, the games would be broken out, Liam needed something.

“I'll be right back,” he said to his boyfriend when there was finally a lapse in conversation.

“Where are you going, baby?” Avery asked, head tilted curiously.

“Just to the bathroom,” Liam told him.

“Oh, okay, my love. Hey, do you want to bring down some games while you're up?”

“Sure. Any requests?”

“Anything you want.”

Liam smiled uncomfortably-he hated the few occasions where Avery let him make decisions-and ducked out of the living room, hurrying to the master bathroom and finding the pain relievers. He took his phone off 'do not disturb' while he swallowed the pills with just a handful of water from the sink and replied to the few 'merry Christmas' messages he'd gotten. He smiled when he saw that one of them was from Zayn. It was the first time they'd used each others' numbers, but Liam decided that he was glad they exchanged them.

Liam took a few different games down, refusing to pick unless absolutely necessary, which it ended up not being. His headache never went away completely, but it got a lot better, maybe partly because he wasn't focused on it so much anymore. Instead, he was focused on the phone in his pocket and how he really just wanted to take it off 'do not disturb' again and see if Zayn replied. He didn't know why he would. A simple 'merry Christmas' text didn't need a reply, but, still, the curiosity was killing him.

After a few games were played and second desserts were eaten, both Liam and Avery's families decided it was time to go. The men helped them load up their cars, hugs and 'I love yous' were exchanged, and then they drove away.

To Liam's surprise, Avery insisted on cleaning up the few remaining dishes in the kitchen, so Liam went upstairs to get ready for their Christmas night tradition of watching a Christmas movie.

As he brushed his teeth, Liam took his phone off 'do not disturb.' Almost immediately, his phone vibrated. One message was just from Louis, who was listing off everything he got that year, but the second was from Zayn, reading, _Hope you got lots of sick things :)_

 _Can't complain_ , Liam replied, smiling around his toothbrush. _What's up?_

_Just taking a break from drawing. You?_

_Watcha workin on? And just getting ready to watch a movie._

_Not sure yet. I'm in the brainstorming part of the project haha. What movie?_

_Not sure yet._

“Babe?”

Liam nearly dropped his phone, his heart pounding out of his chest as Avery rounded the corner to the bathroom. He didn't drop his phone, but he guessed he looked just as suspicious with it in his hand because Avery narrowed his eyes.

“Who are you texting?”

“Louis.”

It was only half a lie because Liam _was_ going to text Louis back in a minute.

“Hmm,” Avery hummed. “Well, bad news, babe. The emergency room doctor on shift tonight got in a minor car accident, so he's going to be late and they want me in for a little bit.”

“Oh,” Liam said, and he didn't know why, but he felt a little bit of relief. He was a terrible boyfriend.

“Yeah,” Avery said. “I'm sorry, baby. I don't have to go in until the afternoon tomorrow, so maybe we can watch a movie in the morning?”

“Yeah, that's fine,” Liam assured him. “You have more important things to do.”

“Nothing is more important than you,” Avery insisted, stepping into the bathroom to give Liam a kiss once he'd finished rinsing the toothpaste out of his mouth.

“Your patients need you,” Liam amended with a soft smile. “I'll see you in the morning. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Avery was halfway around the corner when he stopped and turned back around.

“Li-Li?”

“Yeah?” Liam asked, setting the washcloth he'd retrieved to wash his face with on the sink.

“You know we'll be married some day, right?”

“I know,” Liam assured him with a smile.

“And we'll have kids.”

“Yeah. Can't wait.”

Avery smiled and then turned, finally exiting the room. Once Liam heard the garage door go up and then back down, he got the phone back out of his pocket. Zayn had replied.

 _Well I hope it's a good one_ , he'd said about the movie.

 _Change of plans_ , Liam said. _Avery got called into work so I don't know what I'm doing now._

_Avery isn't there?_

_Nope, he went to work_

When Liam's phone went off again, it wasn't a text message. Zayn was calling. For a moment, Liam just stared at his phone. Surely, this had to be a mistake; a pocket dial or something. He answered anyway.

“Hello?”

“Hey.”

If it was a pocket dial, Zayn caught it quickly and recovered well.

“What's up?” Zayn asked.

“Not much,” Liam replied, foregoing his face washing to go lay on the bed and talk to Zayn.

“You sure I'm not interrupting anything?”

“You're not,” Liam assured him.

“Good. I just thought talking to you might help with my artist's block.”

“I don't know how much help I'll be, but I'll try.”

“Eh, don't worry about it. Just talk to me.”

“What would you like to talk about?”

“Anything.”

So they talked about anything; music, movies, TV shows, everything Batman. They talked for over three hours, when Liam heard the garage door open, signaling that Avery was home.

“Zayn?” he said in a whisper.

“You have to go?” he guessed.

“Yeah.”

“All right. Thanks for talking to me.”

“I hope you've come out of your artist's block.”

“I think I'm just going to go to bed, but yeah, I feel better. Have a good night, Liam.”

“Wait, was something wrong?”

“No,” Zayn said, and then, “You have to go, remember?”

“Oh, yeah. I'll talk to you soon.”

“Good night.”

“'Night.”

***

Liam woke the next morning to the sounds of cupboards slamming and dishes clanging together. Rubbing his eyes, Liam sat up and saw that it was only just after seven. Today was already promising then.

Sighing, Liam got out of bed and made his way downstairs, following Avery’s ruckus to the kitchen.

“Bear? What's wrong?”

Avery turned and, yeah, he was definitely angry. Liam swallowed.

“Don't worry, babe, I've got the dishes,” the doctor said, gesturing wildly to the sink.

“Dishes?” Liam asked, frowning in confusion. “I thought you did those last night?”

“I was _about_ to, but I got called into work,” Avery said. “Did you honestly think I would be able to do the dishes that fast?”

“No,” Liam said with a shrug as he made his way to the sink. “I honestly didn't think about it at all. I'm sorry.”

Avery grabbed both of Liam's arms, backing him into the refrigerator, his fingernails digging into Liam's skin so hard that it actually hurt.

“You don't think about _anything_ , Liam,” the older man spat. “You're so god damn stupid.”

“I know,” Liam said, wanting to look down but knowing better than to break eye contact.

“I'm not Superman, you know that, right? I can't do everything around here!”

“I know. I'm sorry.”

“There's going to be a day when 'sorry' isn't going to save your ass, Liam.”

Liam didn't know what to say to that, so he found it safer to just stay quiet. He guessed he did all right because Avery let him go after a few moments had passed, grumbling at Liam to clean the house as he headed upstairs.

***

 _Have you had better luck with your art today?_ Liam messaged Zayn later, once Avery had gone to work, still in one of his moods.

 _Yeah, it's gone well :)_ , Zayn replied after a couple minutes. _Just about to break for a late lunch._

Liam hadn't even had a chance to reply when a second message from Zayn came through.

_You eaten yet?_

_Not yet_ , Liam replied. He hadn't had much appetite.

_Wanna go grab something?_

_I don't have any money out._

_It's okay. My treat._

_You don't have to._

_I invited you. Pick you up in 30 minutes?_

***

Zayn came to the door to pick Liam up again, but Liam was ready that time.

“Thanks for inviting me,” he said as the two walked to the car. “I feel bad that you have to pay though."

“It's okay. I've already started a 'Liam' tab anyway, so I'm not really doing you any favors.”

Zayn winked and Liam smiled.

“Where would you like to go?” Zayn asked.

“Umm, you can pick.”

“I don't care.”

“Please decide. I hate making decisions.”

“Well...I guess pizza is a pretty safe bet, right?”

“Yes,” Liam agreed, relieved.

“Okay. Know any good pizza places on this side of town then?”

***

Weirdly, Liam and Zayn liked the exact same toppings on their pizza, so they got one to share. Even though they'd talked for so long the previous night, they didn't run out of things to say while waiting for the pizza, or once it came out either.

“You know, I didn't even think about this place probably being more expensive than most pizza parlors,” Liam said towards the end of the meal, feeling even worse than he already had.

“It's okay,” Zayn told him. “It tastes a lot better.”

“I'm sorry.”

“Stop apologizing. It's really fine, Liam.”

“Okay…,” Liam said. “Sorry if I annoyed you.”

Liam froze when he realized he said it again, but Zayn snorted, looking up at Liam and trying to laugh without choking on the pizza in his mouth.

“What?” Liam asked, smiling a little when he saw Zayn safely swallow the food.

“You're just ridiculous,” Zayn commented, bumping Liam's foot with his own. After a pause, he found that it was his turn to say sorry.

“You're a footsie kind of guy then?” Liam teased.

“I may or may not have a foot fetish,” Zayn said.

“Weirdo.”

“Everyone has their kinks, Liam.”

Liam laughed, shaking his head as he took his last bite of pizza.

“So what flavor of ice cream do you want?” Zayn asked then.

“What?”

“You can't go to a pizza parlor and not get ice cream.”

“I do it all the time.”

“You're doing it wrong then. Chocolate or vanilla?”

“Hm...chocolate.”

“You're my kind of guy,” Zayn said approvingly.

“I think you're flirting with the wrong Liam,” Liam pointed out. Zayn paused, thinking for a moment, before he said,

“Maybe. You're giving him a run for his money, though.”

“Do you have a thing for guys with boyfriends?”

“Only if their name is Liam.”

***

“So what time is the boyfriend getting home?” Zayn asked when their ice cream was eaten and the bill paid.

“Not until about ten tonight,” Liam answered.

“Do you have any plans today?”

“Not really.”

_Not at all._

“Do you want to come over to my place for a little bit? Maybe play video games or something?”

For a moment, Liam almost said no. Avery was sure to be mad if he found out, but, then again, Liam was starting to feel like he could do everything right and still have Avery be mad at him.

“Okay. Sounds good,” he told Zayn.

“Cool. Niall went home for the holidays, so he won't be there. Not that that matters, but...yeah.”

Liam simply smiled and Zayn returned it, running a hand through his hair.

“Are you ready then?”

“Yeah.”

Liam took one last drink of his water and then slid out of the booth. Zayn followed suit.

Niall had gotten a new video game from his girlfriend for Christmas, which he'd left at the apartment, and with a quick text, Zayn received permission to play it.

“How long have you known Niall?” Liam asked as Zayn set the game up.

“Just since he moved here five months ago. He started dating this girl he met online and moved here to be closer to her, but she wasn’t ready to move in together yet, so he was looking for cheap apartments. We met at one, because I was looking too, and after talking for a bit, decided to find a place together that maybe wasn't roach infested.”

“Meeting people through social media seems to be the big thing.”

“Yeah, well, they're not together anymore, but I like his new girlfriend better anyway. They did _not_ meet on social media.”

Zayn handed Liam his extra controller as he sat cross-legged on the floor next to him.

“How did you meet Avery?”

“A college party.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“So you were going to college?”

“Yeah, for physical therapy.”

“And you decided you didn't want to do that?”

“Kind of. It was just too hard. I'm kind of dumb, so I'm not cut out for school.”

“I don't think you're dumb,” Zayn said.

“I worked three times harder than most people and was still about to fail out.”

“That doesn't mean you're dumb. People learn in very different ways and school doesn't cater to all of them.”

“Thanks,” Liam said with a laugh.

“It's the truth,” Zayn said, but then started the game.

As neither of them had played before, they took the time to actually read the story at the beginning. None to Liam's surprise, Zayn was a much faster reader, proving the point he had made earlier.

“Sorry,” he apologized for the third time that Zayn had to wait on him.

“It's really okay, Liam,” Zayn said, also for the third time. “I'm a fast reader.”

“And I'm slow.”

“No, you're not.”

Liam didn't answer, blinking rapidly, his head starting to ache.

“Okay, I'm done,” he lied. Zayn hesitated, but pressed the button to continue. Luckily, the reading was over after that.

It didn't take long for Liam to calm down again, and before they knew it, he and Zayn had played for two hours.

“Fuck,” Zayn said once he'd looked at the clock. “I swear it's only been, like, an hour.”

“Yeah, me too,” Liam said. “Except I just realized that I really do have to pee.”

Zayn laughed. “Do you know where the bathroom is?”

“Yeah. I saw it earlier.”

“Okay.”

While in the bathroom, Liam checked his phone. Luckily, he had no missed calls or texts. He wasn't even sure he would really care if he'd had.

Zayn had moved to the living room by the time Liam left the bathroom, boredly flipping through the channels.

“We have a little bit longer before I have to take you home,” he spoke. “I can take you now anyway, or you can stay and watch a movie, if you want.”

“What movie?” Liam asked at the same time that he went to sit next to Zayn on the couch. Zayn smiled.

“We can find something on Netflix or you can search in the small stash of movies that Niall and I have.”

“Do you have Batman?”

“Of course.”

“The newest one?”

“Yep.”

“Ooh, can we watch that one?”

“Definitely. You've seen it before though, right?”

“Actually, no.”

Zayn's mouth dropped open.

“No?!”

“Avery doesn't like Batman,” Liam shrugged. Zayn stared, looking at Liam as if such a thing were impossible. Finally, he sighed, getting off of the couch to find the movie.

“I don't think you need that kind of negativity in your life, Liam” he commented. Liam only smiled.

***

As Zayn drove Liam home later, Liam realized that he felt different than he had in a while. He couldn't quite place the exact emotion, but it was distantly familiar. He'd felt it before, and it felt good.

He tried not to think about that too much.

Liam thanked Zayn a few more times once they reached the house and Zayn assured him that he was welcome. He then watched to make sure Liam got in safely and waved when Liam looked back one more time. Liam decided that he needed to find a man for Zayn if that other Liam was going to be too stupid to fall for him. Actually, his sister Nicola was newly single. Maybe he should find out if Zayn liked women too.

***

Avery was still in a bad mood when he got home. Liam could tell by the way he slammed the garage door, and he tensed a little, but forced some calmness on himself. He was in a good mood and he wasn't going to let his boyfriend ruin that, especially over a few dirty dishes that Avery really should have been over by now.

“Liam?” Avery called, quickly finding the younger man in the living room, watching television. “Have you just sat on your fat ass all day?” the doctor asked.

“No,” Liam answered simply, not looking from the screen.

“So what did you do?”

“Cleaned house and stuff.”

“And stuff?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I know one thing you sure as hell didn't do and that's make dinner.”

“I wasn't hungry.”

“Well, that's fucking good for you. I am.”

“Okay,” Liam said, shifting his eyes to Avery as the show he was watching went to a commercial. “What would you like?”

“I would _like_ my dinner to have been made five minutes ago.”

“Well, I'm sorry, but I can't rewind time. I'll make you something now, though, so what do you want?”

Walking to Liam quickly, Avery yanked the television remote out of his hand, flipped off the set and then turned back around to smack Liam across the head with the remote.

“Ouch, what the hell is your problem?!” Liam asked, jumping to his feet so maybe he would have a bit of a better chance of defending himself. Avery didn't answer right away, throwing the remote to the ground and causing the batteries to pop out. Liam watched one roll under the couch before he was slammed into the wall, his arms being held above his head by his boyfriend.

“ _You_ are my problem,” he said, his voice low and menacing. “I don't like this new attitude of yours and it's going to stop.”

“I'm sorry,” Liam said, and he meant it then. He didn't know what had gotten into him, but he had slacked on his boyfriend duties and, frankly, had been acting like a pompous ass. Avery didn't deserve that, and Liam was reminded for the two millionth time why he didn't deserve someone as great as Avery. “I'm sorry, Bear. Let me make it up to you.”

“You want to make it up to me?” Avery scoffed. Feeling as if his voice wouldn't work properly if he chose to speak again, Liam nodded. Then, he was being torn away from the wall and thrown to the ground. He barely had time to gasp before a foot met with his stomach.

“I swear, I don't know why I'm still putting up with you!” Avery exclaimed, and kicked Liam again. “I could have _anyone,_ Liam! _Anyone!_ And I've stayed with you because I love you, but I don't think you feel the same way!”

“I do!” Liam cried, his voice nearly a squeak. “I love you so much, Ave.”

“Then fucking prove it, Liam,” the other said, getting on top of Liam and pulling down his shirt until the collar bone was exposed. Avery bit it and Liam jumped.

“Shh, let me do this, Cupcake,” Avery said, speaking in just above a whisper then. “If you love me you'll let me.”

Avery's hand skillfully undid Liam's belt and zipper and went down his pants, and Liam tensed, but let Avery do what he wanted, knowing it wouldn't do any good if he protested anyway.

***

Harry invited Liam and Avery to a New Year's Eve party that one of his friends was throwing, promising that Louis, Niall and Zayn would be there too. Avery told Liam that there was no way in Hell that they were going-his richer medical friends were having a party-but told him to tell Harry that they would see what they could do.

Though Avery had gotten what he wanted the night of their big fight, his mood hadn't improved. That was still Liam's fault, because he'd been sick ever since, and not with a cold or flu or even a migraine. Liam had no idea why he couldn't eat and could barely sleep, which meant he was, again, slacking on his boyfriend duties.

“This is why we're not married,” Avery had said on multiple occasions. Liam couldn't really blame him on that point.

***

The afternoon of New Year's Eve, Liam got a text from Louis, informing him that they were no longer going to the party, as Harry had a bad cold, but Zayn, Niall, and Niall's girlfriend were going to go to Harry's for games and such if he and Avery decided they wanted to join. Knowing it was hopeless, Liam still told Louis that they would try their best, but to tell Harry he hoped he felt better soon.

Avery had bought Liam a new outfit for their party, and it was a bit much for Liam's taste-he was a T-shirt and plaid kind of guy-but he wore it anyway and let Avery do his hair 'properly' even though he felt that it looked ridiculous.

To put it simply, the party was boring. It was just a bunch of rich doctors and their spouses eating, drinking and gossiping in their too-expensive outfits. Avery paraded Liam around, showing him off, even though Liam thought the others' significant others were all much more attractive and smarter than him. Still, they were nice to him, which Liam appreciated because the drunker Avery got, the worse he treated him.

“Go get me more punch,” the doctor demanded, shoving his empty cup in Liam's face, making both Liam and the wife of Avery's friend jump.

“Are you sure you should have some more?” Liam asked, as the 'punch' wasn't exactly punch. Avery glared, so without another word, Liam went off.

“You look about as bored as I am,” a guy probably Liam's age commented, smiling as he watched Liam scoop out some punch.

“There's not much fun to be had when you're the designated driver,” Liam pointed out with a smile.

“Yeah, I suppose you're right,” the stranger admitted. “Especially when you're around a bunch of rich people who think they're more important than what they are.”

That got Liam to laugh out loud, and he covered his mouth with his free hand, hoping Avery didn't see.

“Who are you here with then?” he asked once he'd composed himself.

“I'm Tom's brother. Tom Barker. Do you know him?”

“Yeah, we were just talking to him.”

“I'm just here until the real parties start tonight.”

“Lucky. Have fun.”

“I will. By the way, I'm assuming you're here with Dukes?”

Dr. Avery Dukes. Yep, that would be Liam's boyfriend.

“Yeah,” he said.

“Yeah, they said he's dating a younger guy and everyone else here is old, so...”

Liam laughed again, just a little.

“I should actually probably be getting back so I can give him his drink,” Liam said.

“All right, man. If you get _too_ bored, come find me. I'll be here, by the alcohol, until I leave in an hour or so.”

Liam smiled and nodded, receiving a smile in return before he turned and headed back to his boyfriend.

“I said I wanted the blue punch,” Avery said as means of a 'welcome back.'

“No, you didn't,” Liam said, frowning.

“Yes I did!”

“No, Avery, you didn't,” Scarlet, Tom's wife, told him, frowning as well.

“Well, you should have known. Blue is my favorite.”

“Sorry, I'll go get you some blue.”

“No,” Avery said, grabbing Liam's arm to stop him. “It's too late now.”

Avery snatched the red punch from Liam and took a drink, making a face like it was the worst thing he had ever tasted when Liam knew for a fact that he'd had at least two glasses earlier. He didn't miss the way Scarlet rolled her eyes.

“Who was that guy you were talking to, by the way?” Avery asked then.

“By the punch bowl?”

“Yes, unless there are more guys you've been flirting with.”

“I wasn't flirting.”

“Calm down, Ave,” Tom spoke, looking uncomfortable. “That was my brother. He's straight.”

“He may be, but Liam isn't, and I know flirting when I see it.”

“I wasn't flirting!” Liam exclaimed.

“Don't bullshit me!”

“I'm not fighting in front of your friends,” Liam sighed, turning and beginning to walk away. He didn't know where he was heading, but that didn't matter because Avery stopped him by spinning him roughly around and punching him in the nose. Scarlet screamed while blood gushed everywhere, and before Liam had even _completely_ registered what had happened, Tom's brother was by his side, shoving tissues into Liam's hand.

“The fuck is your problem, mate?” he asked, keeping a hold of one of Liam's shoulders while Liam tried to stop the bleeding of his nose.

“Li!” Avery cried, shock written on his own face as well as everyone else's. “Baby, I'm sorry.”

Avery took a step towards his bleeding boyfriend, but Tom pulled him back.

“Let's go out and get you some fresh air, yeah?” Liam heard Tom say.

“Come on, Liam,” Scarlet said, and when exactly she'd reached his side and put her hand on his arm, Liam wasn't sure, but he let her lead him to the bathroom anyway.

“Sit down,” she instructed nicely, nodding to the closed toilet lid. Liam did. The woman handed him a box of tissues while wetting a washcloth. Afterward, she had him tilt his head forward while she applied pressure to his nose, making sure to ask more than once if she was hurting him.

“I'm really fine, Scarlet,” Liam tried to assure the woman.

“Does he get that way often?” she asked.

“No,” Liam answered immediately. “It must be the alcohol.”

“Mm...if you would like to leave, we'll keep Avery here tonight.”

“Oh, no, that's okay,” Liam said. “He'll kill me if I take his car without his permission.”

A beat of awkward silence passed.

“Not literally,” Liam added, even though he might come close.

“Then would you like to call anyone to come get you?”

“No,” Liam answered right away again. If he called someone, he would have to tell them the whole story and that wasn’t happening. “I’ll probably just get his keys and wait in the car until he's ready to go.”

“I'll get them for you,” Scarlet said, “but are you sure?”

“Yeah, totally. It's fine.”

Keeping her mouth in a tight line, Scarlet lifted Liam's head and removed the washcloth.

“It's stopped bleeding and it's not broken, but I'll bring you some ice.”

Tom's brother was already on that, waiting with an ice pack when Scarlet opened the door. Liam thanked him, but not another word was said until the woman came back.

“How bad does my nose look?” he asked, graciously accepting Avery's keys from her.

“Not bad at all,” she said. “It's not even going to bruise.”

He nodded, silently thanking the higher powers.

Liam laid in the backseat of Avery's car. It was cold, and he didn't want to turn on the car and waste the gas, but he didn't care about the cold anyway. Snuggling into his coat, he blinked back a few hot tears and got out his phone. He had one text message, and he managed a small smile when he saw that it was from Zayn.

_Are you two going to make the 'party?'_

_Don't think so_ , Liam replied. Though Zayn had sent the message over an hour ago, he texted back quickly.

_Damn :( Wish you could_

_Me too_ , Liam assured him.

_How is the rich folks' party? ;)_

_Boring as shit_

_Lmao. Is the alcohol better at least?_

_Idk. I'm driving._

_U haven't even had 1?!?!?_

_No_

_Wtf kind of NYE…?_

Liam actually did laugh out loud at that, but it was cut short when someone banged on the car window, very literally almost making him pee himself. He didn't feel much better when he saw that the person requesting entrance was Avery, but he sat up and unlocked the door anyway. The doctor slid in right beside him.

“Baby, I'm so sorry,” he said, cupping Liam's face as he studied the potential damage. “Are you okay?”

Liam opened his mouth to say yes, he was fine, like he always did, but a choked sob came out instead and the tears he had blinked away earlier came back without warning.

“Baby…?” Avery prompted.

“Why do you like to hurt me?!” Liam asked. The words surprised even him. He'd thought them before, of course, but he had never ever planned on saying them out loud.

“I don't _like_ hurting you, Cupcake,” Avery said, brushing his thumbs across Liam's cheekbones.

“So why do you do it?” he asked.

“I don't know...You just make me so mad sometimes and I can't help it. I'm sorry, I wish I could.”

Liam didn't have anything to say to that-or perhaps had too much-so he remained quiet and tried to stop crying, but he wasn't successful with that either and knew he had to look pathetic with his lip quivering no matter how hard he bit down on it.

“I love you,” Avery tried. That only made Liam cry harder, so he tried another tactic. “Do you want to go to your friends' party?”

“It's canceled,” Liam told him. “Harry is sick so they're just having game night at his place.”

“Let's go then.”

“You seriously want to go to Harry's?”

“I think it will make you happy, so yes.”

Liam didn't know if going there was such a great idea-they were bound to be able to tell that something was wrong-but he didn't want to go home and be alone with Avery yet, nor go back into Tom and Scarlet's party, so the next minute, he found himself driving to the address Louis had given him earlier.

Niall answered the door, a plate of chicken wings in his hand, but he gave the newcomers a one-armed hug anyway and, as they only had met Niall one time before, Liam thought that it was very likely that Niall was under the influence of something or another. Or maybe it was an Irish thing.

“Glad you two could make it,” he said as he led the guests to the living room where Louis, Harry, Zayn and a woman Liam had never met before were sitting/laying on the floor, a board game-Clue-set out in front of them. Liam was only focused on Zayn, who did a double-take before locking eyes with him and breaking into a smile.

“You did come!” he exclaimed.

“Yeah,” Liam said, smiling.

“How are you feeling, Harry?” Avery asked.

“I'm fantabulous,” Harry answered.

“He's partying hard with cold medicine,” Louis explained, patting Harry's leg.

“You two haven't met my girlfriend yet,” Niall spoke, and the newest guests looked to the only female in the group.

“I'm so sorry,” Liam said.

“I'm Avery, and this is Liam, my boyfriend,” Avery spoke.

“Mia,” the woman replied with a warm smile. “It's nice to meet you both.”

The men returned the sentiment.

“We were just getting ready to start a new round,” she continued, gesturing to the game board. “Would you like to join?”

They agreed and took a seat on the ground, Liam by Zayn and Avery next to Liam's other side.

“Is Ave sober enough to play this game?” Louis teased.

“Is _Harry_ sober enough to play this game?” Avery retorted.

“I'm just resting an eye,” Harry said, with one eye open and one eye closed. Avery laughed and then, slipping into doctor mode, began asking the sick man _exactly_ what was wrong and what his symptoms were. Liam let his mind wander and was so lost in his own head that he almost didn't feel Zayn tracing lines into his skin.

 _You okay?_ Zayn asked when Liam looked over. He didn't yet remove his pinky from his leg. Forcing a smile, Liam nodded. Zayn didn't look convinced.

The game was interesting, with Harry and Avery confusing themselves, each other and everyone else. It was Zayn who ended up winning, despite the mess of it all.

“You're so smart, Zayn,” Harry sighed. Zayn simply smiled.

They decided to take a game break after that, and Zayn began collecting everyone's answer sheets while Mia collected the cards and Niall picked up the game pieces.

For some reason, when Zayn took Liam's notepad, where he had been taking extra notes, from him, he froze, studying the paper with a slight frown on his face.

“I know, my handwriting is awful,” Liam said, smiling. Zayn looked over and smiled too.

“No, it's not that,” he said, beginning to collect the rest of the notepads. “I just spaced for a minute. Sorry.”

As Niall took the game away, Louis turned on a New Year's Eve special and cuddled with Harry in the recliner, Harry falling asleep almost instantly. Niall and Mia took the loveseat and the other three stayed on the floor. Soon, Avery was out too.

“Hey, Li, are you hungry?” Zayn asked quietly. Liam tried not to feel too happy over the fact that Zayn used the nickname that only his family and closest friends used.

“A little,” he answered.

“Me too,” Zayn said. “Want to come to the kitchen with me and get some food?”

“Okay.”

“Hey, bring the cookies when you come back?” Niall asked as the other two stood and began to walk away.

“Sure, Niall,” Zayn said with a smile and a roll of the eyes.

“Thanks, mate.”

Zayn handed Liam a plate when they reached the kitchen and told him to help himself, and also that he could heat up whatever was cold. They both filled their plates, popped them into the microwave and then Zayn leaned against the counter, popping a crisp into his mouth and eating it before speaking.

“Hey, are you sure you're okay?” he asked. Luckily, Liam didn't break down at the question that time.

“Yeah, I'm good,” he said.

“You sure? Because, like, I know we don't know each other that well or whatever, but, like, you can talk to me if you want or need to; about anything.”

Liam smiled. Zayn's words meant a lot to him, they really did, and he wanted to take him up on the offer, he just couldn't.

“I'm really good, but thank you, and the same goes for you, you know.”

Zayn smiled, but Liam wasn't sure he actually felt it.

“Thank you,” he said anyway.

With that, the subject was dropped. The guys ate silently for a couple of minutes before Zayn spoke again.

“Hey, you never told me you're dyslexic.”

“What?” Liam asked, frowning.

“You never told me you're dyslexic,” Zayn repeated.

“No, sorry, I heard you, it's just...I'm not dyslexic.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“Why did you think I was?” Liam asked.

“When I saw your notes from the game, some of the letters were, like, written backwards and stuff,” Zayn said.

“I just have terrible handwriting,” Liam explained.

“No, it wasn't that. Some were legitimately backwards and stuff.”

Liam frowned.

“Sorry,” Zayn said. “But has no one ever told you?”

“My instructors usually just couldn't read my writing,” Liam said. “A lot of them let me type up all of my assignments because it was so bad. Others just marked me wrong when they couldn't read it.”

“And they didn't think that was abnormal…?”

“It's just because I'm stupid.”

“Being dyslexic doesn't make you stupid.”

“Oh, I know that, but I'm not. I'm just legitimately stupid.”

Zayn's frown grew. “You're not stupid, Li. Please stop talking about yourself like that.”

“It's not an insult. It's just what I am.”

At that, Zayn sighed.

“I'm sorry you've been led to believe that.”

“I've accepted it,” Liam said with a shrug. “Now we should probably get Niall his cookies before he starves to death.”

***

Avery and Harry both woke a little before midnight, and when the clock finally read '12', Louis grabbed Harry's face and gave him a big kiss on the lips, despite Harry's croak of protest.

“You're going to get sick!” he exclaimed with half a voice.

“Don't care,” Louis said.

“Can I have a kiss, baby?” Avery asked Liam, his bottom lip sticking out in a pout, and since when did he ask?

 _Since he nearly broke your nose in front of his friends_ , Liam answered his own question, but gave the other a kiss anyway.

“Hey, let's play Spin the Bottle to see who gets to be Zayn's first kiss of the year!” Niall suggested.

“Um, that's really okay,” Zayn said, looking at the blonde as if he had lost his mind.

“Okay? It's a _terrific_ idea!” Niall corrected him. “Harry, do you have a bottle?”

“Um, no, but I have a soda can?”

“That works.”

Harry got up to grab it while Zayn sighed. Niall giggled deviously.

“Get in a circle, everyone!” Niall told the group as Harry returned with the empty can.

“Hold on, Harry's not allowed in this,” Zayn said. “Louis may be willing to get sick for him, but I'm not.”

“Rude,” Harry said, but backed out of the circle anyway. Niall adjusted the tab so that it was sticking out and then set it in the middle of everyone to spin. Around and around it went until it landed on Liam. Niall, Harry and Louis all cackled then (and Harry erupted into a coughing fit after) and Liam looked nervously from Avery to Zayn and back again.

“Well, go on,” Avery said with a smile. “It's rude to leave a man waiting.”

Liam looked back to Zayn, who smiled a bit too. Liam tried to return it and then propped himself on his hands and knees, crawling over the can to reach Zayn, who was sitting across from him. They locked eyes and Zayn tilted his head, as if he were trying to silently communicate with him, but Liam's brain was too muddled to even try to figure out what he could be saying, so he just closed his eyes and went for the kiss.

Liam was pretty sure there weren't actually any fireworks going off anywhere, but he couldn't be sure.

Zayn's lips were the perfect amount of soft and rough, and the kiss was the perfect combination of gentle and hard. It didn't last long, but it was still the best kiss Liam had gotten in a while, and he didn't want to stop. In fact, he felt as if it might have been Zayn who pulled away first, leaving Liam blushing, blinking and unsure of what just happened.

***

He expected to really get a good beating from Avery as soon as they got home, but he didn't. The two washed up together and then crawled into bed, where Avery wrapped himself around the younger man, told him he loved him and kissed him good night.

As embarrassing as getting punched in front of Avery's friends had been, it may have been a good thing because Avery acted better than he had in a long, long time after that. He made breakfast for the both of them, leaving the extras in the refrigerator if he had to leave before Liam woke. He spent all of his free time with him; not yelling at him or hitting him, not only trying to have sex with him, just spending time with him. It almost felt like the beginning of their relationship. Almost. Liam was still constantly on edge, just waiting for Avery to have a meltdown, but, for the most part, he was happy again.

And it totally didn't bother him that, nearly two weeks after New Year's Eve, Liam still hadn't talked to Zayn. It must have been obvious that he had liked the kiss a little too much and now Zayn was uncomfortable, but that was fine. They hadn't even been friends really. It was fine if they never talked again.

That was why Liam had an unsent, _Hey, what's up,_ text to the other already typed out on his phone and he looked at it at least twice a day.

***

It was January fourteenth when Avery finally cracked. Fourteen days since Liam had been hit or talked down to, which hadn't happened in...Liam couldn't even remember how long.

Unfortunately, Avery apparently felt like he had a lot of making up to do.

The worst part, Liam would think later, was that it wasn't even his fault that time. Avery had been fine before he left for work that afternoon, but Liam could tell by the sporadic texts he received throughout the day that it was a rough shift.

When Avery entered the home that night with a slam of the door, Liam jumped. Suddenly, he felt sick.

“Bear?” he called, hurrying to the entryway. “Bear, do you want to talk about it? Do you want me to-”

Liam was interrupted by Avery's fist colliding with his jaw and before he even had a chance to recover, he was kicked to the ground and a foot met with his side, causing a hurt and surprised scream to escape from his throat.

“Shut up!” Avery screamed. “Just shut up, Liam! I can't take this anymore!”

If Liam had had a chance to talk around the kicks, he would have asked what he meant, but that didn't matter. Avery told him anyway.

“I do this all for you!” he cried. “I work day and night and kill myself to make a good life for you and you don't even care!”

“Avery, I-”

“Shut up, Liam!”

The older man's fist met with Liam's nose, and Liam wouldn't be surprised if it was broken that time.

“I never get a 'thank you!' I never get anything!”

“I'm sorry, I-”

Another punch to the nose was what Liam got then.

“I said shut up!”

So Liam did, but blocked the next punch when it came, pushing Avery off of him and crawling a few feet until he felt stable enough to stand. His side and stomach burned with pain, but he ignored it and ran to the stairs.

He was almost to their bedroom when Avery caught up, pushing him to the ground and simultaneously causing his head to crack into the wall. Liam screamed again. Picking up the younger man's feet, Avery dragged him away and for a minute, Liam thought he was really going to die, but when they reached the bedroom, Avery lifted him off his feet and slammed him into the wall before going to the closet, taking out Liam's luggage and throwing various items of his into the bag.

“You're leaving,” he stated flatly. “I'm sick of your shit, Liam. You need to go and I never want to see you again.”

Liam didn't even argue. As soon as Avery threw him his bag, he was out the door.

It was freezing outside, and Liam had forgotten his coat and gloves, but he decided he would rather take his chances with frostbite than with Avery, so he kept walking. He walked until he couldn't feel his fingers anymore and the blood on his face turned icy. He couldn't really go inside anywhere looking the way he did, so he took shelter under a lamp post, hoping to capture even a little bit of warmth from it.

Knowing he had to call someone, as he would die staying outside all night and didn't have money for a hotel or even a motel, Liam got out his phone and scrolled through his contacts. Louis was a no go. He would be furious, understandably so, but that wasn't what Liam needed at the moment. He didn't want to call his parents either. He would have to tell them soon that he and Avery weren't together anymore, but he wanted to keep out as many details of it as he could, which meant they couldn't see his face for a while. The only other contacts he had in his phone besides Avery's parents were either people he never talked to anymore or who would immediately tell Louis.

And then there was Zayn. Though Liam hadn't talked to him in a long time either, and he may also tell Louis, he was probably the safest option Liam had so, taking a deep, shaky breath, Liam pressed his contact information and called.

“Hello?” Zayn answered on the second ring.

“Hey, Zayn. It's...um, it's Liam. Um, Payne. Um...Louis' friend.”

“Hey, man. What's up? Are you okay?”

“Uh...not really,” Liam admitted, biting his lip and then wincing. He had yet to start crying, but the tears were close enough to start at any second now.

“Do you need me to come get you?” Zayn asked. _How did he know?_

“Um, yeah, that would be great, if you're not too busy.”

“Of course not. Where are you?”

“I'm not sure...”

Liam scanned the area quickly until he found a street sign.

“Williams Street, I think,” he said.

“Are you outside?”

“Yeah.”

“That's kind of far, but I'll be there as soon as I can. You're staying on the phone with me until I get there, all right?”

“Okay.”

That honestly sounded wonderful.

Liam and Zayn didn't talk much while Zayn drove, but Zayn kept checking to make sure Liam was still there and still doing all right.

At one point, Liam found a beanie and sweater in his bag and put them on. It felt like Heaven, though not as good as when Liam got into Zayn's car with the heat running. He outwardly moaned at that, putting his frozen fingers right on the vents.

“Shit, Li,” Zayn breathed.

“I'm sure it looks worse than it is by now,” Liam said. “It doesn't even hurt.”

“Yeah, probably because you're numb from the cold. Your lips are blue. How long have you been out there?”

“I don't know. I've been walking around for a while.”

“Do you think you need a hospital?”

“No! No, no, no. It's not that bad, I promise.”

Zayn studied Liam's face before sighing.

“All right. Where am I taking you then?”

“That's actually a good question...”

Liam hadn't planned that far ahead.

“My place it is then,” Zayn answered for himself.

“You don't have to do that,” Liam said.

“Where else would you go?” Zayn asked.

“I don't know…Like...a shelter?”

Why hadn't Liam thought of that before?

“No,” the other man said immediately. “You're coming to my place.”

***

Zayn blasted the heat as high as it would go on the way to his apartment and gave Liam a blanket that he kept in his backseat for 'naps in between classes.'

“How is this term going for you so far?” Liam asked.

“Good. My classes seem pretty easy and my instructors are cool, which is nice for my last term.”

“I bet you're excited.”

“Definitely.”

Climbing the stairs to Zayn's apartment hurt, but Liam did it. Maybe he could get away with making the situation seem less serious than it was.

“Fuck!” Niall exclaimed when he and Zayn entered the place. “Who beat the shit out of you?!”

Or maybe not.

“Avery,” Liam answered. Niall gaped before his mouth formed a tight, angry line, his face turning red.

“Fucking cunt! I'll rip his ball sack off and make him eat it, I swear on me life!”

“Niall!” Zayn exclaimed. “Maybe lay low on the violent remarks, yeah?”

“Oh, right. Sorry, Liam,” Niall said. Despite everything, Liam snorted.

“Come on, Li,” Zayn said then. “Let's go get you cleaned up.”

Liam followed Zayn to the bathroom and he cringed when he saw his reflection. He looked even worse than he'd imagined, with snow-pale skin, dried blood caked onto his face, a busted and swollen lip and a huge bruise on his forehead. His nose was also bruised, but not broken, at least.

“Here,” Zayn said, setting a washcloth on the sink in front of Liam before rummaging around in the medicine cabinet. Liam scrubbed his face, blinking away the tears that stung his eyes. Even the places that he hadn't been directly hit in hurt.

Once his face was clean, Zayn gave Liam some painkillers to take and then took it upon himself to apply an antibacterial gel to his lip. When Liam winced, so did Zayn, and he sucked in a quick breath.

“I'm sorry, Li.”

“It's okay.

“No, it's not.”

“Well, it's not your fault.”

Zayn said nothing to that.

“Are you hungry or anything?” he asked a minute later as he put the supplies and medicines away.

“No, I'm fine,” Liam said.

“Liam?” Niall said, peeking his head around the corner. “I set up a bed on the couch unless you would rather share a bed with one of us.”

“The couch is fine,” Liam assured him. “Thank you.”

“No problem. How are you feeling?”

“I'm okay.”

Niall and Zayn exchanged a look, and Liam was pretty sure they rolled their eyes at him.

“Why did I even ask?” Niall wondered aloud. “Try to get some sleep, Liam.”

“I will, thank you.”

Zayn walked out with him to the couch and made sure he was comfortable and that he had more water and painkillers nearby, and, still, he seemed reluctant to go to bed. He did, though, and then, laying in the dark silence alone,_ was when Liam finally started crying. All those years of putting up with Avery's moods just for it to end like that…

He didn't know how long he lay there crying, but when he heard someone get up and start padding down the hall, he held his breath. He thought he had been quiet, but he didn't know for sure.

Since Liam closed his eyes, feigning sleep, he couldn’t tell if it was Niall or Zayn, but he could feel one of them standing in front of the couch, studying him.

“Liam?” they finally whispered. It was Zayn.

 _Yeah?_ Liam tried to reply, but all that came out was a choked sob.

“Li,” Zayn said softly. “Come on, you're coming with me.”

Not really giving him a choice, Zayn picked Liam up bridle-style and carried him into the bedroom, laying him on the bed and covering him with the blankets before crawling in himself. By that point, Liam knew it was going to be impossible for him to stop crying, so he didn't even bother to try. He rolled over to face Zayn, who took him in his arms immediately and just let him cry into his shirt while he rubbed circles into his back, softly shushing him without seeming like he expected that to do any good. Eventually, Liam did fall asleep.

When he woke the next morning, he saw that Zayn had brought his water and painkillers into the room and took them gratefully. It was tempting to stay in bed until they kicked in-Liam's ribs protested every time he so much as breathed-but his bladder was threatening to explode if he didn't empty it ASAP, so he clenched his teeth and fought through the pain.

He wasn't going to just invite himself back into Zayn's bed after he got up, so when he was done in the bathroom, he made his way to the kitchen to see who was cooking. It ended up being Zayn, who was balancing an unlit cigarette in his mouth while cooking eggs.

“Good morning,” Liam said and winced, not because it hurt but because his voice sounded terrible.

“Good morning!” Zayn greeted, smiling around his cigarette when he looked over and saw Liam's bedhead. “Breakfast will be ready soon. Are you hungry yet?”

“A little.”

“Good. You can go ahead and sit down.”

Liam did. A minute later, Zayn had his food in front of him and sat down across from Liam with his own after throwing out his full cigarette.

“Trying to quit,” he explained to Liam when he noticed him looking at him weird.

“Oh. That's good, if that's what you want to do.”

“I do; for now, at least.”

Liam smiled, though only briefly because it felt like he would re-split his lip. He licked them.

“I'll call Louis today and tell him what happened,” he said. “I'm sure he'll let me stay with him and I can get out of your hair.”

“Actually, Niall and I already talked about it this morning and we'd love it if you stayed with us,” Zayn told him. “I mean, if you'd rather stay with Louis, we totally understand, but the offer is there.”

“But...I have no money,” Liam reminded the other. “I won't be able to help out with anything financial-wise until I find a job.”

“We know, and that's fine. I may have a job prospect for you, though, if you're interested.”

“What?”

“Yeah. One of the bartenders where I work is leaving after Saturday, so we'll have that open.”

“I've never bar-tended.”

“That's okay. I'll train ya.”

“I don't think they'll want to hire me looking like this.”

“You'd be a bartender. Most of us live life on the edge.”

Zayn winked before continuing.

“You don't have to do it, but if you're interested, I'm sure you'd get hired. My boss loves me.”

Liam didn't blame Zayn's boss.

“Okay,” he said. He needed a job and with his lack of skills and experience, this would probably be the best offer he would get. Besides, working with Zayn would be cool. Liam got a little too excited just thinking about the possibility.

“Cool. I'll text him now,” Zayn said, getting out his phone and sending a message. About a minute later, he said, “Is tomorrow at seven PM good for your interview?”

***

When Liam got on his phone later, he was surprised to find that Avery hadn't turned it off yet. He took advantage and called Louis. Though he was planning on staying with Zayn and Niall, Louis still deserved to know. Besides, Liam knew that, eventually, he would find out, and the longer Liam made him wait, the angrier he would be.

Louis was still angry, of course; not with Liam, but with Avery. All in all, though, he really didn't seem too surprised and he let Liam know that he would always have a place with him too.

Mia took Liam to the store that night so he could get some make-up and look a little less zombie-ish for his interview the next day.

“I promise to pay you back as soon as I have money,” Liam told her, to which she rolled her eyes and told him he worried too much.

Zayn watched him get ready the next evening.

“You really know what to do with that stuff,” he commented as he watched Liam hide the cut above his lip.

“I've had practice,” Liam said.

“You deserve better than that, Liam.”

Liam said nothing to that.

***

The interviewer-Zayn's boss-only asked Liam three questions, the last of which being, “Can you start Monday?”

Zayn had to work that night, but he drove Liam back to his and Niall's place first. Niall was out with Mia, so after verifying that Liam would be fine by himself for a little bit, Zayn went to work. It was only then that Liam realized how exhausted he was, more emotionally than physically, but still, he decided to lay down.

Though he'd slept in Zayn's bed with him the past couple of nights, he didn't feel right going into the guy's bedroom when he wasn't there, so Liam laid on the couch and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. When he let the breath out, he didn't expect a river of tears to follow.

Liam cried hard, and he cried for a while, and Niall just so happened to walk in on that breakdown. He rushed to Liam immediately, sitting by his feet and asking questions to try to figure out what was wrong, but Liam couldn't speak. He could barely breathe.

Sometime during it all, Niall must have texted Zayn, because his shift couldn't have been over yet when he busted through the door and ran to kneel by Liam on the couch. Great. Liam didn't need all these people to see him bawling his eyes out, and he stood to go off and be by himself before realizing that he had nowhere to go. He actually had nothing. No home, no money, no boyfriend, and, okay, he had a job, but he hadn't even started yet so that barely counted.

That realization made Liam cry harder.

“Liam!” Zayn said sympathetically, getting off his knees to join Liam, who was just standing in the middle of the floor. Knowing his ribs were hurt, Zayn hugged Liam around the shoulders, and he held him tightly. He didn't shush him that time and he didn't try to comfort him with lies that everything would be okay. He just hugged him and no one said anything for a while.

“Do you miss him?” Zayn asked once Liam caught most of his breath and the tears slowed a little.

“I don't know,” Liam said, finally moving to hug Zayn back. “Everything has happened so fast and I don't know how to feel or what to say or what to do! I thought I had my whole life planned out, but now it's all changed and I just don't know anymore!”

“It's okay not to know,” Zayn said, rubbing his back. “Life is supposed to be full of surprises. Some are good and some are bad, but things don’t always go as planned, and sometimes it's for the best.”

“Well, right now, I don't like it.”

“I know.”

Breaking away from Zayn, Liam went back to the couch, but the other man followed, and the two of them plus Niall shared a group cuddle.

A couple of minutes into it, Niall snaked his arm out and blindly searched until he found the television remote and turned on golf. Zayn groaned loudly. Liam gave a disgusting, snotty snort and Niall snaked his arm again around until he found Liam a tissue. For some reason, Liam found that funny and couldn't stop laughing. Soon, Zayn started laughing too.

“Oi, you two are weird,” Niall commented, but he must not have been too bothered because he only snuggled closer.

***

Liam was woken by his phone at ten thirty the next morning, so apparently Avery still hadn't turned it off yet. Blinking away the blurriness of his vision, he saw that it was his mom calling and reluctantly answered.

“Liam!” she exclaimed, her voice higher-pitched than normal. “Liam, what's going on?”

“Um...what do you mean?” Liam asked, covering his eyes against the nauseating pain in his head.

“I just talked to Diane.”

Diane was Avery's mom.

“Oh,” was all Liam said.

“Avery said you two got in a fight and you left.”

“Not exactly. He kicked me out.”

“Oh...That's not what he said,” Karen said cautiously. “Are you sure it's not just a big misunderstanding then?”

“Pretty sure, mum.”

“Oh, Liam,” she sighed. “Where are you? With Louis?”

“No. I'm with my mate, Zayn.”

“Zayn?”

“Yeah, and also my other friend Niall.”

“I’ve never heard you speak of them.”

“I haven't known them that long.”

“Liam...I think you should go home.”

“That's not my home anymore, mum.”

“Diane said Avery was drunk while talking to her, Liam. Dunk at ten o' clock in the morning! This whole thing is clearly upsetting him.”

“And you don't think I'm upset about it?!”

“Of course you are, darling. That's why you need to go back and talk to him.”

“He kicked me out.”

“I think you may have gotten confused...”

“Mum!” Liam groaned. His entire body protested. “I may be dumb, but I know what 'you're leaving' means.”

“He probably didn't mean permanently.”

“He packed my suitcase for me.”

Karen sighed.

“At least give him a call.”

“Mum, I have to go,” Liam said. All this talk of his ex-boyfriend was making his migraine worse; almost unbearable.

“Liam-”

“I'll talk to you later. Love you.”

Hanging up, Liam put his phone on silent and covered his face with a pillow, breathing deeply in and out.

“Everything okay?”

Jumping, Liam uncovered his face and looked over to see Zayn standing in the doorway, a concerned frown on his face.

“Migraine,” Liam explained. Zayn's frown deepened and he stepped inside the room and shut the door behind him, presumably to block out the light.

“Do you need anything?” he asked, his voice softer than before.

“A bullet though my brain,” Liam answered, and Zayn gasped.

“Sorry,” Liam said. “That was a terrible joke. I'm going to Hell.”

“I think you've already been there.”

Zayn walked over to get back in his regular side of the bed.

“Don't you ever go to school?” Liam asked.

“It's Saturday,” Zayn said.

“Oh. Right.”

“Do you want me to go?”

“Not really, but I mean, it's your room and your apartment, so whatever you want to do.”

“I kind of want to take a nap right here.”

“You want to take a nap before it's even eleven in the morning?”

“My laziness doesn't discriminate.”

Liam smiled.

“Have a nice nap then.”

“Yeah. You try to get more sleep too, okay?”

“Mhm.”

“Hey...Liam?”

“Hm?”

“You don't actually want a bullet through your brain, do you?”

“No, Zayn,” Liam assured him with the tiniest of laughs as he rolled over and scooted closer to Zayn's side.

***

That weekend, Zayn made Liam cheat sheets with the different alcohols he would be using and pictures he drew himself of the bottles. Zayn was truly amazing, and Liam thought that was why his shift on Monday went so easily. He earned a fair amount of tips and, even by the time he paid Mia back, he had enough to get himself a cheap phone by the following week. Avery had yet to turn off his phone, but Liam didn't want to give him that satisfaction. The nice people at the phone store transferred all of his more important stuff on his old to his new one, Liam deleted everything from the original and then Zayn drove him to Avery's house so he could put the phone in his mailbox.

“I'm so proud of you, Li,” Zayn said on the way back to his place. Liam couldn't even remember the last time someone had been proud of him, but he got the same sentiment twice in less than twenty-four hours when he texted all of his contacts to let them know of his new number and Ruth replied,

_Proud of you, little bro xx_

Then, in a separate text,

_Btw, ur going to have to tell me about Zayn and Niall. Are they cute?_

Smiling, Liam replied,

_I'll call you soon to catch up. Promise xx_

***

Liam started to heal. Emotionally, it was going to be a journey, but the bruises on his face and on his ribs went away and, soon, Liam wasn't crying himself to sleep every night. He, Zayn, Louis and Harry all went to dinner again and Liam paid for Zayn that time.

Zayn would talk to Liam while doing his homework and swore he helped him concentrate. He would even let Liam watch while he drew or painted; something that deeply shocked Niall and Harry when they found out, for some reason. Liam started to pay part of Zayn and Niall's rent, which they said was unnecessary, but it made Liam feel better, so he did it anyway.

All in all, Liam felt good. He hadn't had a migraine since that day early on, and he was back to eating half the kitchen, like before. He went to the gym with Zayn a few nights a week and started bulking up pretty quickly. He looked a lot better, he thought, and for the first time in nearly three years, he liked himself.

Harry's February first birthday was unfortunately on a Monday that year, so they all celebrated the weekend after. Harry's sister agreed to be the designated driver so all of the boys and Mia could get drunk, which they did.

Liam and Zayn were the least drunk of them all, but they were still pretty tipsy, and Liam grew quite worried when, while slow dancing with Zayn out on the dance floor, he suddenly grew very quiet, studying Liam's face with an unidentifiable look on his own.

“Zayn?” Liam asked worriedly. “Are you going to be sick?”

“No,” Zayn said with a laugh. “You're really gorgeous, Liam. Did you know that?”

Blushing, Liam shrugged.

“Well, you are,” Zayn continued. “You're so gorgeous and nice and funny and I just really love you.”

Liam laughed, though his cheeks still burned.

“You're so silly, Zayn.”

“I've been thinking about something a lot,” Zayn commented.

“And what's that?”

“I've been thinking about kissing you a lot. Like, kissing you all night.”

Liam's heart skipped a beat. It was true that he hadn't wanted to stop kissing him on New Year's Eve, but he hadn't really thought about kissing him since then. Well, that wasn't exactly true. He'd thought about kissing him after dinner that night where he paid and almost every night since then as they laid in bed together, falling asleep. Liam never expected it to happen though. Zayn was nearly perfect, and Liam was a disaster. Sure, he was starting to put himself back together, but he had a lot of work to do still. There was no way in his right mind that Zayn would want him.

Of course, Zayn wasn't really in his right mind then.

“So kiss me then,” Liam said. Zayn thought about it for only a second before nodding to himself, wrapping his arms around Liam's neck and standing on the balls of his feet to lock his lips with Liam's. Before their lips met, Liam saw Zayn's eyes close and he closed his as well, holding Zayn by the waist as they kissed.

That kiss was sloppier than their last, but Liam felt the same way. The only difference was that it didn't end prematurely. They kissed until that song was done, and then for part of the next. They took another shot after that and then kissed again until Harry made them all take one last shot together before the night was over. Then they left and continued kissing in Gemma and Harry's grandpa's van. They kissed while Mia unlocked the apartment door and they kissed while the four of them went down the hall, parting ways when they got to Niall and Zayn's rooms, respectively.

They kissed next on the bed, Zayn hovering over Liam as he placed kisses on his lips, jawline, neck and shoulders, which were exposed due to the fact that Zayn had removed his shirt.

“Zayn?” Liam asked somewhat breathlessly.

“Hm?” Zayn hummed, his lips vibrating against Liam's.

“You don't want me,” Liam said when Zayn moved to kiss his cheek again.

“I do,” Zayn told him. “Want you so much, Li.”

“Are...are you sure?”

“Mhm.”

So Liam began silently kissing him again. Soon, his belt was unbuckled and his pants were removed, leaving him in his boxers only. Zayn's hand traveled from Liam's thigh up to his bulge, but Zayn frowned when he discovered that maybe Liam wasn't quite as into going any further than the kiss.

“What's wrong, doll?” Zayn asked, head titled as he stared worriedly into Liam's eyes, all whilst his hand played around the outline of his bulge, attempting to make something come alive.

“Nothing's wrong,” Liam said.

“Do you not want to…?”

“No, go ahead.”

“Go ahead?”

“Yeah. It's fine.”

Zayn's frown somehow deepened more.

“Okay. No,” he said, rolling sideways off Liam, who frowned himself.

“Wait, what are you doing?”

“Going to sleep.”

“I thought you wanted to have sex?”

“Not with someone who clearly doesn't want to.”

“I told you that you can go ahead.”

“Yeah, and that's not what you say when you actually _want_ to do it.”

“...I'm sorry.”

“It's okay, Li.”

“Are you mad at me?”

“No, of course not.”

“It's just that, sometimes, when Avery wanted it, he didn't care if I did or not. He didn't care if I said no.”

Liam was talking too much. Liam was talking way, _way_ too much. He shut up.

“Fuck,” Zayn sighed. “He really was a piece of shit, wasn't he?”

The nonchalance of how Zayn said those words made Liam giggle-snort, and Zayn laughed too.

“Goodnight, Li.”

“Goodnight, Zayn.”

Zayn ran one finger up and down, stroking Liam's arm gently, and though the touch was innocent, Liam bit his lip guiltily.

“Zayn?” he asked after a couple minutes of silence.

“Hm?”

“Are you...do you need help with anything?”

“I'm okay, Liam. Don't worry about it.”

The problem was, Liam didn't really know how not to worry, and the slight shakiness of Zayn's breathing, plus the way he kept fidgeting around, hinted that Liam did leave him in a bit of a predicament.

Blindly moving his hand around under the sheets, Liam didn't have to search long before he found Zayn's bulge through the jeans he was still wearing. Zayn jumped at the touch.

“Take them off,” Liam said, and added, “Please.”

“You really don't have to, Liam.”

“I want to.”

“...And what are we doing, exactly?”

“Hand job or blow job. It's your choice.”

Just at the words, Zayn adjusted himself.

“Erm, it's up to you,” he said.

“You decide.”

“Whatever you're more comfortable with. Or neither, if that's what you really want.”

Without saying another word, Liam undid Zayn's belt, slid it off with minimal help from Zayn, and then got his pants off too before grabbing his length. Zayn thrusted up immediately. Liam had a feeling he wasn't going to last long, which was fine.

Even with his broken body, Liam knew the situation was hot. Everything from the noises Zayn made to the way he moved while whimpering Liam's name was hot, but Liam still couldn’t get the least bit turned on himself. Twenty-two years old and he was already not functioning the way he should be. He was really screwed in finding another partner, no pun intended, unless that partner was okay with hand jobs or blow jobs for the rest of their life. (Or if they just didn't care about if Liam liked it or not, he supposed.)

“Fuck,” Zayn breathed once he finished, and Liam backed off of him, wiping his hand on the sheets. Zayn gave a small laugh. “Sorry,” he said. “I really should have warned you.”

“It's all good,” Liam assured him.

“You can really go wash up,” Zayn told him. “I won't be offended or whatever.”

“Oh, thank you.”

Zayn changed the sheets while Liam was gone, and then went to clean up himself. When he got back, he snuggled close to Liam.

“Good night for real this time,” he said.

“Good night,” Liam said. Zayn sat up halfway to place another kiss on Liam's lips and then laid back down, both of them falling asleep quickly.

***

One of Liam's favorite past times these days was laying next to Zayn and watching him draw. It didn't matter what the project was. He just loved seeing Zayn's strong hand delicately move whatever utensil he was using across the paper and have something amazing appear, as if by magic.

“You're so talented,” Liam complimented.

“Eh, I still need a lot of practice,” Zayn said.

“Oh, hush,” Liam told him with a roll of his eyes. “I would buy your stuff.”

“Are you just saying that?”

“No. I really would. Everything I've seen you make is great.”

Zayn beamed, his eyes not traveling from the paper he was creating art on. “Thank you.”

“You're welcome, but I mean it.”

After finishing a line, Zayn threw his paper and pencil down to the foot of the bed and leaned down to kiss Liam. They had been kissing a lot since Harry's party three days ago and Liam sometimes wished he knew what it meant before realizing that it probably meant nothing. If it did, surely they would have talked about it by now. Liam was okay with just kissing though.

“Let's go to dinner,” Zayn said. “My turn to pay.”

“Actually, you paid at the double date and that time we went out for pizza, so it's technically still my turn to pay.”

“Yeah, but it was my idea, so it's my turn. No arguments. You about ready?”

***

It was probably just Liam wishing, but that night, it almost felt like a real date. They went to a nicer restaurant and talked and laughed throughout the whole meal. After that, they went to the movies, and the one they went to originally ended up being terrible, so they sneaked into another, giggling to themselves for a while when they did.

On the way back to the car, Zayn's hand brushed against Liam's hand and it almost felt like he had been planning to hold his hand, but that had to just be Liam's wishful thinking too.

***

The next day, while Niall and Zayn were both at school, it was just Liam at the apartment, watching mindless television and eating a bowl of cereal when there was a knock on the door. Liam stared at his cereal bowl for a moment, debating on whether to take it with him or not before deciding he probably wouldn't be long and set it on the end table as he stood to answer for the visitor.

He didn't check the peephole, figuring whoever it was wasn't there for him and he probably wouldn't know them anyway, but he immediately regretted that decision when he opened the door.

“Avery?” he asked despite that it was clearly his ex-boyfriend standing there, crying in front of Zayn and Niall's apartment.

“Liam!” Avery choked, and he lunged for him. Liam winced, thinking he was going to get punched or knocked into a wall, but Avery just wrapped his arms around Liam's middle and cried harder. “Baby, oh my god, I've missed you so much.”

“Avery...it's been almost a month,” Liam said. He wasn't holding him back.

“It feels like years,” Avery said.

“You're drunk,” Liam noted. He could smell the alcohol coming off the other man.

“It's the only way I can deal.”

“What, since you can't beat me up anymore?”

Avery let out a loud sob, pulling back and wiping his eyes fiercely, though his tears just continued to fall.

“I'm so sorry about that, baby. I know I should have treated you better, and I'm so, so sorry. It won't happen anymore. I'll treat you like the prince you are. Just please come home.”

“How did you know where I was?”

“Your mum.”

Liam wanted to scream.

“Avery, you need to leave,” Liam said. “How did you get here? Did you take a cab?”

“No. I drove.”

Liam sighed. “You can't be driving like this. I'll call you a cab.”

“Are you coming too?”

“No.”

“Please!”

“You kicked me out.”

“But now I want you back!”

“What happens when you're sober?”

“I'll feel the same way. I miss you, Cupcake.”

“You need some water and sleep.”

Liam took his cell phone out of his pocket and began to call for a cab when Avery snatched the phone away from with a yelled, “No.”

“Avery, shh,” Liam hissed. “Give me my phone back.”

“Sorry,” Avery said, handing him the mobile again before turning and starting to walk away.

“Where are you going?” Liam asked.

“Home.”

“You're not driving!”

“Yes, I am.”

Quickly closing the door, Liam chased after the man, grabbing him when he got to the first floor and wrestling his keys away from him. (Liam was surprised he hadn't gotten hit yet.)

“Give me my keys!” Avery yelled, trying to grab them again, but Liam moved quicker.

“You are going to kill yourself or someone else,” Liam explained.

“I'm fine!”

“No, you're not. Go on, get in your car.”

“I need my key!”

“I'm driving you! Go!”

Muscles relaxing, Avery smiled and turned to calmly walk outside. Liam held in his sigh that time.

“How are you getting back?” Avery asked when they reached the house.

“I'll just have Zayn pick me up from somewhere when he gets off school.”

“You should stay here.”

“No.”

“Fine. Get out of my car.”

Liam obeyed, turning the engine off and throwing the keys in the seat. Instead of grabbing them and getting out, Avery exited the car only to walk to the driver's side and open the door. Liam grabbed his arm.

“What are you doing?!”

“Going out.”

“No! Go inside and go to bed.”

“I have things to do, Liam.”

Groaning, the younger man reached awkwardly around his ex to grab his car keys and slam the door.

“Get inside,” he said. Avery did, turning twice to make sure Liam was following.

Not much had changed since Liam left. The place was a little messier without him, but other than a few random things scattered here and there, everything was exactly how they had been, including the pictures on the walls.

“I love you, Liam,” Avery said as he was ushered upstairs to bed. Liam didn't say it back.

“I said 'I love you, Liam,'” Avery repeated.

“I heard you,” Liam said. “I just don't believe you.”

“I'm sorry I hurt you.”

“Which time?”

“All of them.”

“Lay down,” Liam instructed, as they had reached the bed.

“Are you laying down too?”

“No. I'm going downstairs.”

“Then I am too.”

“You really just need to go to bed.”

“If you really thought that, you would lay down too.”

Rolling his eyes, Liam didn't have much choice than to do it.

“Happy now?” he asked.

“Mm...yeah,” Avery said, turning over to snuggle close to Liam, whose head gave a dull thud.

***

Avery was still asleep when Zayn got off for the day, but Liam knew he would be mostly sober when he woke, so he left anyway.

“You okay?” Zayn asked, studying Liam's face carefully when he got into the car.

“Yeah,” Liam assured him.

“Did he hurt you?”

“No, he didn't.”

Zayn nodded, but that frown was still on his face as he drove home.

On Sunday, Valentine's Day, Liam had flowers and chocolates delivered to Zayn and Niall's door. He threw the flowers away and gave the chocolate to Niall.

“Damn, what secret admirer are you blowing off?” Niall asked with a smile as he shoved a piece of candy into his mouth.

“Avery,” Liam answered. Niall spat the chocolate out right onto the table.

“I don't want his filthy chocolate,” he said. “Permission to throw away?”

“By all means.”

Apparently throwing them in the trashcan wasn't good enough for Niall, and he made a fire in the pit outside to burn the candies. Liam was so lucky to have friends that cared about him so much.

His family was another story.

“Are you going to tell me about your Valentine's Day?” his mom asked when she called him later that night, probably for that sole purpose. She hadn’t mentioned it for a few minutes, but when it was clear that Liam wasn't going to bring it up, she apparently felt the need.

“So Avery told you,” Liam sighed.

“He told Diane and she told me. We're still friends, and we love you both, so of course we're going to talk about these things, Liam.”

“I know.”

“So…?”

“So what?”

“Did you thank him?”

“No. I threw the stuff away.”

“Liam!”

“We're not together anymore, mum!”

“He obviously still wants to be, Liam. Don't you?”

“Not really.”

“I know you're hurt, honey, but are you going to let one fight destroy three years of happiness?”

“Mum, he hit me.”

Karen was silent for a few moments, which Liam understood. That couldn't have been easy for her to hear.

However, when she spoke, her words weren't anything like what Liam expected.

“Well, of course that wasn't right, love, but he's a boy and you know how they are. They show their emotions more violently.”

“I wouldn’t hit someone just because I was upset!” Liam exclaimed, tears prickling his eyes. He blinked them back furiously. He was laying on Zayn's bed, and the other man would be in at any moment. Liam really didn't need him to witness him breaking down _again_.

“I know that, Liam, but some boys aren't as sweet as you.”

“So if dad got mad at you and hit you, then you would think it was just him being a guy?”

“It's very different, honey.”

“Why? Because you're a woman? He was my boyfriend, mum! You're not supposed to hit the person you claim to love.”

“Okay, Li, calm down. Forget I said anything.”

Liam sighed. He felt sick.

“I have to go mum.”

“No, honey, wait.”

“What?”

“I think you at least need to talk to him.”

Liam almost screamed.

“I'm sick, mum. Bye.”

He wasn't lying because as soon as he hung up with his mom, he went the bathroom to look for medicine for his suddenly aching head, but Liam found himself having to rush to the toilet to throw up instead. He hadn't even had a chance to close the door and before he knew it, Zayn was there, rubbing his back and running his fingers through the back of his hair soothingly.

“You okay?” he asked once Liam straightened and flushed the toilet.

“Yeah. Sorry, I don't know what that was about,” Liam said, going around Zayn to rinse out his mouth and splash some water on his face. When he was done, Zayn laid the back of his hand across Liam's forehead.

“You don't feel warm,” he said. “Migraine?”

“No,” Liam said. His head hurt, but it wasn't a migraine.

“Niall's chicken?” Zayn guessed. Liam laughed.

“Maybe.”

Zayn smiled sympathetically and gave Liam a hug. It was nice, and Liam felt a little better right away.

“Bed time?” Zayn asked as he pulled away.

“I'm not actually tired,” Liam told him. “You can go to bed though. I'll stay in the living room.”

“I'm not tired either,” Zayn said. “I just thought that since you don't feel good, you'd want to sleep.”

“I feel okay now, mostly.”

“Hmm,” Zayn hummed. “Well, couch or bed. It's your choice.”

“I think I'll go to the couch for a bit.”

Zayn nodded and walked out. While he headed to the kitchen, Liam went to sit on the couch. A minute later, Zayn returned with a cup of juice, which he handed to Liam.

“Oh, thank you!” Liam said, genuinely surprised at the gesture. Zayn smiled.

“You're welcome. Can I keep you company?”

“Yeah, of course.”

Zayn's smile grew even bigger. “Cool. I'll be right back.”

He went to the bedroom and Liam stayed on the couch, sipping on his juice. Before long, Zayn returned with the PS4.

“Gaming on the big screen?” he asked. Liam smiled. The 'big screen' in the living room wasn't even big; just a 28 inch, but it was bigger than the tiny TV in Zayn's room, so he called it the big screen.

“Sounds perfect,” Liam said.

***

Not all of Liam's family was up Avery's ass, at least, Liam pointed out to himself when Ruth texted him the next morning.

_Don't listen to mum. She's lost her damn mind. You deserve better xx_

_Thanks sis :),_ Liam replied. A minute later, Ruth sent another text.

_OMG he hit you?! I'm going to kill him and hang his genitals on my dart board, I swear to god._

Liam laughed out loud at that one.

Unfortunately, his mom was still not convinced that the break-up was for the best (and by Nicola's 'but he was so hot' text, neither was she) and the older woman continued her mission to reconcile the pair when she and Liam talked a couple days later.

“How long are you planning on staying with your friends?” she asked.

“I don't know,” Liam said. He honestly hadn't thought about it.

“Don't you think a small two bedroom apartment is a little crowded for three people?” she asked then. Liam had never really thought about that either because Zayn and Niall had never made him feel like he was in the way or anything, but Zayn might like having his bedroom back to himself, Liam realized then. His clothes barely fit in the closet and dresser with Liam's there as well, and, since they typically had the same work schedule, the only alone time Zayn had was in his car on the way to and from school.

“I can't afford to move on my own,” Liam told her; not while saving for a car, at least. Louis had told him he could stay with him, but he was moving in with Harry next month, so that really wouldn't help anything.

“Well…,” Karen began, and Liam knew about what she was going to say before the words were even out of her mouth. “You have a home that you can go back to anytime.”

Liam also knew that she didn't mean hers and his dad's.

“I love you no matter what your decision is, Liam,” she said then. “I just think you're being a bit stubborn with this whole thing. You're a lot like your dad in that way.”

She said it light-heartedly, but Liam was about to cry anyway.

“Does he ask about me?” he choked out, and cleared his throat.

“All the time.”

“Is he blaming me?”

“No, honey, not at all. He told Diane that, even with all of his stuff, he feels like he has nothing because he chased away the one thing that really mattered.”

Liam sniffled, and he felt that this mom somehow knew of the few tears that were rolling down his cheeks.

“Call him, Liam.”

So Liam did.

“Who's this?” Avery asked, and Liam realized that, while he still had Avery's number, Avery hadn't had his new one. That made him feel good for some reason.

“It's Liam,” he said.

“Li?!” Avery asked, voice cracking at the perfect time. Liam almost rolled his eyes.

“Yeah.”

“I didn't think I would ever hear from you again!”

“Listen, if we're going to make this work, there are some things you've got to understand.”

“Yes, baby; anything!”

“First, you can't hit me anymore. Or kick me or throw me into walls...and when I say no, you _have_ to stop.”

“Of course!”

“And stop calling me dumb. I already know I am. You don't need to remind me.”

“Okay.”

Liam tried not to think about the fact that Zayn would have denied him being dumb. Even if it was only to be nice, Liam appreciated the sentiment.

“And I have a job now and I'm not quitting, so I need a car to get me there and back. I'll pay you back, but you have to help me out.”

“I'll buy you a car, baby,” Avery promised. “I'll buy you a rocket ship.”

“All I need is a car, Avery.”

“Are you coming home, Cupcake?”

Liam sighed, fighting more tears and another round of vomiting too.

“Can you come get me?”

***

Liam couldn't say goodbye. Niall was out with Mia, and the art student had to meet up with a few other students to work on a project, and so, luckily, or maybe unluckily, he was gone that night. But Liam just couldn't see the disappointed look in Zayn's eyes when he realized that Liam had been too weak to stay away from Avery after all. He couldn't listen to the fake pleas for him to stay and the lies that they liked having him there.

“Hi, baby,” Avery greeted softly after he had texted Liam that he was there and Liam went out to his car, almost turning back a million times to lock himself in the apartment, call Zayn and have him come and rescue him yet again.

But that would make Liam even more pathetic than he already was, so that wasn't going to happen.

“Hey, Ave,” Liam greeted, faking a small smile.

“Thanks for coming home,” Avery said. Liam just nodded, the fake smile not melting off of his face until he turned to face the window.

***

_Where r u?!?! Are u ok?!?!?_

The text from Zayn came after Liam had rejected his call. Biting his lip, Liam turned to make sure the phone hadn't woken Avery, who was sleeping in bed beside of him. It hadn't.

 _I'm ok,_ he replied to Zayn. _Ave and I made up so I went home_

_Wtf…_

_I don't expect you to understand_

Liam didn't even understand himself.

 _Thank you for being such an amazing friend and helping me when I needed it,_ Liam continued his message. _And thanks to Niall too. You 2 are the best :)_

Liam turned his phone off then, thinking his heart might actually break if he read another word from Zayn.

He needn't have worried about that, though. When he woke up and checked his phone the next morning, there wasn't a single message from Zayn. Niall and Louis, yes, but not Zayn, and Liam thought maybe his heart broke anyway. Zayn was fine without him. Liam knew he would be, but that hadn't stopped a part of him from clinging to the hope that Zayn had wanted him to stay.

***

“Good morning, beautiful,” Avery greeted when Liam walked into the kitchen after showering. “I was just about to make some breakfast. What sounds good?”

“Nothing. I'm not hungry,” Liam told him. Avery kissed him and kept kissing, eventually backing Liam against the wall. It was soft that time, but Liam still gasped. Avery caught the breath with his mouth.

“I'll take care of you, baby, I promise,” the doctor said, sliding his warm hands up Liam's shirt, caressing the abs underneath for a moment or two before taking Liam's shirt off completely and carrying him right back to the bedroom.

Liam didn't even have the energy to try to tell him no.

***

The manager at the nightclub stopped scheduling him and Zayn together, and since Zayn never called or sent texts, Liam never had a chance to communicate with him. It was almost like nothing ever happened between them, which Liam supposed was kind of true. Nothing _important_ ever happened between them; not important to Zayn, at least.

“He asks about you all the time, you know,” Preston, Liam's boss, told him as the older man helped him at the bar one night nearly a month after Liam had left Zayn and Niall's.

“Who?” Liam asked, confused and glancing to the guy he'd just served a drink to. Preston smiled.

“Not him. Zayn.”

Liam hadn't even heard that name out loud in a while. It kind of hurt.

“No, he doesn't,” he said, having to concentrate to breathe properly.

“He does. He always wants to know how you're doing; if you have anything new in your life.”

“Zayn is nice,” Liam choked out softly. Somehow, Preston heard him.

“Yeah, but he also misses you.”

“Well, he can always, like, call me or something.”

“He could,” Preston agreed. “And you could call him too.”

Liam supposed that was true. Avery had let up on the jealousy and he never questioned Liam about his phone calls or texts anymore, but Liam figured if Zayn wanted to talk that badly then he would do it himself. Also, despite what his history might suggest, Liam was not a masochist, and the subject of Zayn just really fucking hurt, for some reason.

***

Liam barely saw Louis anymore either; not because Louis was mad at him (though he knew he was), but simply because Louis was busy with work, school and Harry. Liam was happy for him. Louis honestly deserved all the happiness in the world, which Harry gave him, but it did leave Liam feeling a little lonely. Though he had a boyfriend that he knew he at least used to love and who, now, treated him like a prince, as promised, Liam was still lonely. Avery was gone for work a lot, true, but even when he was home, ravishing Liam with love and kisses, Liam was lonely.

But that was Liam's problem, and Liam's problem only.

***

One day in early April, Avery planned a vacation for both of them in the United States; Vegas, to be exact.

Two days after they arrived was the first day Liam heard from Zayn since February.

 _How is it?_ He asked through text

 _What?_ Liam replied.

_Vegas_

Preston must have told him.

 _Oh, it's really nice_ , Liam said, and then sent a few pictures he had taken.

 _Looks sick :)_ Zayn replied. _Hope you're having fun_

_Yeah_

Zayn didn't reply to that-didn't need to-and Liam hadn't even realized how much happier he'd felt talking to him until the sadness hit.

***

It was there, in Vegas, that Avery popped the question. They were at The Mirage, looking at the animals, when Liam turned away from the tigers to find Avery on one knee, a slim gold band held out in the palm of his hand.

“Cupcake,” he began.

“Oh my god,” Liam said. Avery smiled.

“I love you. I almost let you get away from me once, and it was the worst pain I've felt in my life. You are the source of my happiness, my Li-Li, and I want to make you just as happy as you make me. Will you marry me?”

Liam almost said no without even thinking about it. Mostly, he wanted to say no, but Avery had paid for and planned out this whole vacation to make it special, so it would be wrong of Liam to say no. Besides, they were in another country than their home, and if Liam said no, there was a good chance he would be stranded there, so it would be stupid of him to say no as well.

“Yes,” he said, and it almost came out like a question, but Avery didn't care. Beaming, he got to his feet, slipped the ring onto Liam's ring finger and lifted him up, kissing him passionately and ignoring the stares (though some people did clap.)

Liam should have been happy then. He should have spent that night getting drunk to celebrate and not because it was the only thing keeping him from having a nervous breakdown.

***

A couple days after Liam returned, Louis and Harry were throwing a belated moving in party, and Liam was, of course, invited. Avery had to work, but told him to go ahead, which Liam was planning on doing anyway, but he kept that piece of information to himself.

He arrived late because, like a good fiance, he wanted to take Avery some dinner on his break since he couldn't come to the party, and so people were already quite tipsy when he arrived. There weren't too many there-Louis and Harry's house wasn't _that_ big-but just enough to make it crowded. It didn't bother Liam, though, and he smiled as he made his way politely by people, trying to find Louis.

Before he succeeded in that, he found Zayn by running into him and almost making him spill his full drink all over himself. (It was oddly similar to how he met Avery, Liam noted. Or maybe the only part that was odd about it was that Liam compared the two when they were really not similar in any way. Not really.)

“Oh, sorry!” Liam exclaimed as Zayn turned around to see who had knocked into him. Smiling, Zayn sucked some of the spilled drink off of the back of his hand, looking at Liam with bright eyes. The flush of his cheeks showed that, while he was tipsy, he wasn't even close to drunk yet.

“It's okay!” Zayn assured him, wrapping one arm around Liam's neck in a mildly awkward hug. “How've you been, mate?!”

“Can't complain,” Liam said with a small smile himself. Seeing Zayn hurt, but not as much as he thought it would, though Liam was alarmed by how much he wanted to kiss him when he hadn't even had anything to drink yet. “How about yourself?”

“I'm...good, man, yeah. I'm good.”

“Good.”

“LIAM!”

Before Liam could spin around to face Louis, who had been the one to scream his name, his small friend was on his back, hugging him around the neck.

“I missed you,” he said, resting his chin on the man's shoulder.

“I missed you too, Lou.”

“You and Zayn need to come with me to the drink table. A few of us are doing shots!”

The two obeyed, Zayn leading the way since Louis insisted on getting a piggy-back ride there.

Once he had hopped back to his feet, Louis filled seven shot glasses, handing them out to Harry, Gemma, Liam, Zayn, Niall and Mia while keeping one for himself.

“To the cutest couple ever, Harry and me!” Louis exclaimed, leading everyone in the clinking of their glasses before putting the drinks to their lips and tilting their heads back.

It was only when Liam had taken his shot and licked some remaining liquor from his lips that he noticed that Zayn had yet to take his, and he was just staring intently at something Liam couldn't place.

“Zayn?” he asked nervously because it almost looked like the guy was going to throw up.

“Did you get married?” Zayn asked, and it was then that Liam realized he was staring at his hand.

“Oh, no,” Liam replied, twisting his ring.

“Engaged?” Zayn asked, looking into Liam's eyes then, his own foggy.

“Um...yeah,” Liam tried to sound excited as he faked a smile. “Avery asked in Vegas.”

Everyone in the 'shot' group was silent, looking from Zayn to Liam and back almost comically. Zayn's eyes, however, traveled back to Liam's hand before he downed his shot, put down his glass and said,

“I'm getting woozy, guys. I'm going out front for air.”

Still, everyone was silent, watching him go.

“You're engaged?” Louis finally asked once Zayn was out the door.

“Yeah,” Liam replied nonchalantly before heading out after the man.

Zayn was sitting by the closed garage doors, looking down and smoking a cigarette. Apparently his trying to quit hadn't gone so well. Liam hoped he wasn't disappointed in himself and knew that he could always try again if he wanted.

“Zayn?” Liam said as he approached. Zayn didn't look up. “Are you okay?”

Liam sat down by his (former?) friend, who took another drag from his cigarette before answering.

“No.”

“Well...what's wrong?”

Again, Zayn took another puff before replying, though his reply was another question.

“You're marrying him, Li?”

“Yes?” he answered, and it was more like a question again. Zayn sobbed a little.

“You're marrying the guy who beat you?”

“That's in the past,” Liam said with an awkward shrug.

“Does he still do it?” Zayn asked after a brief pause.

“No.”

Zayn studied Liam's face, trying to decide if he believed him or not before puffing his cigarette.

“I still don't think you should marry him,” he said.

“Why not?”

“Because I don't think he loves you right.”

“I told you, he's fine now.”

“Still, I know someone who loves you more.”

“What? Who?”

Zayn took one final inhale, blowing out the smoke slowly before putting out the cigarette and throwing it into the grass a few feet away.

“Do you remember how I told you I was in love with that guy who had a boyfriend?”

“Liam.”

“Yes. Liam. You.”

A jolt went through Liam's body, like the surprise from that confession literally shocked him.

“No,” he said. “A different Liam.”

“No. You.”

“You can't be in love with me, Zayn.”

“Well, I am.”

Zayn's voice cracked at the end of his sentence and tears started running quicker down his cheeks.

“Don't cry,” Liam tried, putting a hand on Zayn's back.

“You're marrying that piece of shit, Liam!” Zayn exclaimed, making Liam quickly withdraw his hand. “That fucking wanker hurt you so bad, and when you left, you were finally getting happy, I saw it, but then you went back for fuck knows what reason and now you're marrying him!”

“I'm happy still,” Liam said, voice high.

“Are you happy, Liam, or are you just that fucking good at lying to yourself?”

“...I don’t know what you want me to say, Zayn.”

“I want you to say you won't marry that prick! Some of my reasons are selfish, yeah, but most of them aren’t. I love you, but I'm not asking you to do the same for me. I just want you safe and happy! I want what's best or you, Li, and I'm sorry, but he isn't it!”

Liam was crying too now. He smacked a tear off his cheek, but more just kept coming.

“Why didn't you tell me?”

“You weren't ready. You had a lot of healing to do, and you were starting, but you weren't completely there yet, and a relationship wasn't what you needed. I was going to, as soon as I felt it was best, and I realize it's not now, but, please, Liam, you have other options. You don't have to do this.”

“Yes, I do,” Liam said, and if asked, he couldn't have said why he had to, but he felt like he did.

“No, you don't,” Zayn said.

“Zayn, I'm sorry, but _this_ is what I really can't do,” Liam said, getting to his feet. Zayn craned his neck just to keep the eye contact.

“You deserve better,” Liam continued. “You deserve someone pure who isn't weighed down with a thousand pounds of baggage.”

“But I want you.”

Liam sighed.

“I want what's best for you too, Z, and that's not me.”

“Tell me you don't love me back,” Zayn said. Liam stared. “Tell me, Liam.”

“I can't do that, Zayn.”

Without another word, Liam walked down to his car, fumbling shakily in his pocket for his keys as he heard Zayn's breaths hitching behind him.

He cried in the car on the way home. He cried as he entered his and his _fiance's_ house and he cried as he collapsed, fully clothed, onto the bed, and he was still awake and crying when Avery got home.

“Baby, what's wrong?” the older man asked, crawling into bed next to Liam and wrapping him into his arms.

“I don't know,” Liam lied, and only cried harder.

“Sh, baby, sh,” Avery tried to comfort him. “It's okay, love. I'm here.”

What Liam didn't tell him was that _that_ was the problem. Avery was there, but Liam wanted Zayn. He'd wanted Zayn for a while, but Liam wasn't used to getting what he wanted. He didn't feel as if he _deserved_ what he wanted, so he'd lied to himself.

Zayn had been right. He was really good at that.

***

Liam felt like he'd gotten beat up the next day. He hadn't, but he was sleep-deprived, sad and hungry, though felt too sick to eat, so he might as well have gotten pummeled a few times.

Avery had held him all night until he finally fell into a fitful sleep, which lasted three hours. Then Liam awoke and moved his crying jag to the living room so as not to wake the other man. Eventually, he fell back to sleep, curled up on himself in the recliner, and woke to the slamming of a cabinet in the kitchen. Head pounding, Liam went to go join his fiance.

“It's nice to see that my own fiance isn't repulsed by my company,” Avery commented spitefully when Liam sat next to him at the kitchen table.

“What are you talking about?” Liam asked with a frown.

“You wanted so desperately not to be with me last night that you slept down here, so what do you think I mean?”

“No, babe,” Liam said, quickly shaking his head. _Ouch._ Bad idea. “I didn't feel good and was tossing and turning, so I didn't want to wake you.”

“You're a fucking disaster, Liam,” Avery sighed.

“I know,” Liam replied weakly. The rest of breakfast was quiet.

Luckily, Avery had to work that day, so Liam could sulk in privacy, which he did. He didn't cry much more, but he guessed he still looked pretty pathetic when Avery came back from work, frowned at him and said,

“What's your problem?”

“Nothing,” Liam replied, turning on the stove to re-heat the dinner he'd made earlier when he was finally able to eat a little. Avery slammed his hand on the table, making Liam jump, but he didn't turn around. He didn't want to see the look on his face, knowing it would too much resemble the Avery that Liam had hoped was gone but who he supposed would always be there somewhere, waiting for the moment when he could strike again.

“Damn it, Liam, just tell me what the fuck is wrong with you?!”

“I said 'nothing!'”

Liam still didn't face Avery, and instead went to the refrigerator to take out the left overs, but then Avery decided to _make_ him look at him.

Slamming the refrigerator door shut-and almost smashing Liam's fingers in the process-Avery threw him up against the counter, causing him to drop the food and his back to ram against the drawer handle.

“Ow!” Liam breathed, and Avery smacked him with one hand while the other was balled into a fist on Liam's shirt, keeping him in place.

“Why the fuck aren't you happy now, Liam?!” he shouted, face red from fury.

“I am!” Liam cried, and he didn't know how he had any tears left, but apparently he did.

“Bullshit! All you've been doing since last night is crying like a bitch and walking around here with that ungrateful attitude!”

“I'm sorry! I'm not meaning to! I swear I'll do better! I'm so sorry!”

“I didn't have to let you come back, you know!”

“I know, and I'm so grateful you did! I love you so, so much!”

“That's what I fucking thought.”

Avery threw Liam to the ground and he yelled as he landed on his wrist funny. The verbal exclamation only made Avery's mood worse.

“What is it now?!”

“Nothing,” Liam said with only a slight quiver to his voice as he got back to his feet. Avery wrestled him back to the ground and Liam couldn't help but to scream again.

“Shut up!” Avery yelled, punching Liam in the face and splitting his lip again. “You're never happy, Liam, no matter how I try, and it's driving me fucking crazy!”

“I'm sorry!” Liam cried yet again. Avery elbowed him right in the eye, making his vision blurry, and not only from the tears.

“I did everything you asked and you still aren't happy, so you know what? I'm done! You're a piece of shit boyfriend and you _deserve_ this, do you understand?! You deserve this!”

Taking a big chunk of Liam's hair, Avery pulled roughly, causing his neck to snap back, and the older man bit down on Liam's skin as one hand began undoing Liam's belt.

“No!” Liam screamed, trying with his good arm to push Avery off of him. “Get off me, Avery! No! _I said no!_ ”

“Shut the fuck up!” Avery shouted, right into Liam's face. Liam gasped, but he did shut his mouth, and squeezed his eyes shut, hoping with all of his heart for a miracle.

Two seconds later, there was a knock on the door.

“Help!” Liam yelled, and he really needed this miracle to pan out now because, if not, he was probably dead. “Help me pl-”

“Shh!” Avery hissed, clamping a hand down onto Liam's mouth. He whimpered.

“Police!” a voice called with another knock. “Open up!”

“Shit,” Avery breathed, standing and fixing his hair before pulling Liam roughly to his feet. Liam screamed as Avery grabbed onto his hurt wrist and the doctor smacked him again.

“Police!” the voice behind the door called again, banging on the door then. “You have fifteen seconds to open before I bust down the door!”

“Just get upstairs, Liam,” Avery hissed, shoving him by the shoulder. Liam went high enough up where Avery couldn't see him, but to where he could still hear what was going on.

Avery unlocked and opened the door.

“Can I he-”

He didn't get to finish, and Liam heard what sounded like a punch, so he hurried back down the stairs and gasped when he saw Avery bent over, holding his nose, and Zayn, not a police officer, kicking him to the ground.

“How does it feel, bitch?!” the art student screamed, kicking Avery in the stomach. “It's not so fun when it's the other way around, huh?!”

Avery made a noise that sounded like the mixture of a choke and a gag.

“Where's Liam?!” Zayn continued, getting on top of Avery and holding onto his shirt by the collar, shaking him as he spoke. “What did you do to him?!”

“Zayn!”

Zayn turned around quickly, the anger on his face melting away when he saw Liam.

“Hey, Li,” he said, standing then.

Liam didn't have a chance to say anything before Avery grabbed Zayn's ankle and pulled him down to the floor, so he just screamed and rushed to help, but Zayn was already on top of Avery, punching him again. With his good hand, Liam pulled him off.

“Liam, go! Get out!” Zayn shouted, making another lunge for the doctor, but Liam tugged him back. “Liam!” Zayn exclaimed, sounding both frustrated and devastated.

“You're coming with me,” Liam said. Zayn stared at him, simultaneously side-stepping Avery's grasp and kicking his hand away too, and then he nodded, taking Liam's good hand and running together out of the house.

They were only a couple of feet down the driveway when Liam pulled back and ran back to the doorway.

“Hold on!” he shouted.

“Liam?!” Zayn screamed, but Liam got to the open door, where he could see Avery propping himself up on one arm as blood poured from his nose.

“Fuck you!” Liam shouted, taking off his engagement band and throwing it inside. He received another miracle when the ring somehow pelted the other in the eye.

He was still standing there, laughing a bit manically, when Zayn gently took his hand again and pulled him away, back into a running pace until they reached Zayn's car.

Zayn squealed the tires as he sped away.

He didn't go home, but to a hotel, and turned to Liam as he shut off the car.

“Are you all right?” Zayn asked. “Like, at all?”

“Yeah,” Liam answered. “I mean, physically, I hurt, but I'm fine. I left this time. I wasn't thrown out. And I said all I needed to say, so...”

“'Fuck you' was all you needed to say?” Zayn asked, one eyebrow raised and a small, amused smile on his face.

“Yes,” Liam said.

“Fair enough. Those are good last words.”

Zayn brushed a strand of hair from Liam's forehead.

“But you're really going to be okay, you think?” he asked.

“Yeah. My wrist hurts like a bitch but-”

Zayn gagged as Liam held up his wrist to examine it.

“Liam, that thing is broken!”

“You think?” Liam asked, poking it with his other hand and wincing. Zayn gagged again, covering his mouth with the back of his hand and turning to the window. Liam giggled.

“Sorry,” he said.

“I'm going to text Niall and warn him that Avery may go to our place in a fit of rage, and then we're going to the hospital.”

***

Zayn parked as close to the ER doors as he could and held Liam's good hand again on the way. It didn't take the doctors long to figure out what happened, as they had all seen Avery's behavior back at the New Year's Eve party, and they promised to not make his working shifts pleasurable ones when Liam insisted on not pressing charges. He just wanted this all over and to never see Avery again. He wasn't looking for revenge; just freedom.

Liam's wrist was bandaged and ointment put on his eye and lip, then he was prescribed some pain medicine and anxiety medicine and sent home. Or, in their case, back to the hotel.

Liam laid down on the bed after drugging himself up, and after washing his face, Zayn joined him.

“I don't have any of my stuff,” Liam commented after a minute of silence.

“That's okay,” Zayn said. “We'll get you new stuff.”

“Zayn?”

“Yeah?”

“What were you doing at my place anyway?”

“I didn't like how things ended last night. I couldn't just leave them like that. I knew I had to take a chance to tell you one last time how much I love you and hope for a miracle. This isn't exactly how I wanted it to go, Liam. I didn't want you hurt.”

“Zayn?”

“Yeah?”

“I was hoping for a miracle too.”

Zayn didn't verbally reply, but lifted Liam's uninjured hand and kissed the tops of all five of his fingers individually before placing a longer kiss on the back of the hand.

“Zayn?” Liam said again.

“Yeah?”

“You're my little miracle,” Liam told him, beginning to cry. “Like, my little Christmas miracle, except it's not Christmas. Maybe my little New Year's Eve miracle because that's when we first kissed? But that kiss was just a spin the bottle kiss, so maybe a spring miracle; an April miracle, since it's April now?”

Liam gasped. Zayn jumped.

“What's wrong?”

“You're my little miracle sunshine clearing up my April showers!”

“Liam,” Zayn said with a laugh.

“Yeah?”

“I think the meds have kicked in. Get some sleep, doll.”

“Okay. But Zayn?”

“Yes, Li?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

***

Liam slept for eleven hours, which meant that they missed check-out time, but Zayn didn't seem to care. When Liam finally did wake up, the other man was sitting next to him on the bed, plopping grapes into his mouth. As soon as Liam stirred, he looked over and smiled, setting down the phone he had been playing on.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” he asked.

“I've been worse,” Liam said, and he had. If he wanted to dwell, he could hate himself for staying with his last boyfriend for so long, but he wasn't going to do that.

“That doesn't really comfort me,” Zayn commented, and then said, “Hungry?”

“Starving.”

Zayn held out a grape and, feeling too weak and sore to move much just yet, Liam simply opened his mouth. Laughing, Zayn plopped the fruit into Liam's mouth, and Liam sighed contently.

“I have more breakfast for you,” Zayn said, setting the bowl of grapes carefully on the bed next to Liam and going to retrieve a covered plate from the desk. Underneath the napkin was a banana, croissants and an orange. Liam's mouth nearly started watering and he sat up slowly.

“Want me to feed you?” Zayn asked.

“I have a broken wrist and a fucked up face, but I'm not totally immobile,” Liam said with a laugh.

“Your face is perfect,” Zayn disagreed.

“How does my eye look?”

“Blacker than the night sky, but that doesn't change anything.”

Liam smiled, but it hurt his lip, so he stopped quickly and began to slowly eat the breakfast Zayn had gotten for him.

“We can order something else if you want,” Zayn said.

“This is fine.”

He ate in silence for a few minutes while Zayn picked at his own pants. Then, Liam sighed.

“I'm sorry, Zayn.”

“Huh? What for?”

“Getting you into this mess.”

“Liam, do you know how grateful I am that I was there?”

“But before, the first time; when he kicked me out. I shouldn't have called you.”

Zayn's face morphed into something that almost looked like hurt.

“Why do you say that?”

“Because it wasn't fair of me to make you and Niall just let me stay with you like that and deal with my problems.”

“You're our friend, Liam. Your problems are our problems and, besides, I meant it when I said I love you. I would do anything for you and I loved having you there.”

Liam paused before continuing.

“You could have gotten hurt last night,” he said.

“But I didn't, and I wouldn't have cared if I did. You're free, Liam. I mean….aren't you? You're not going back, are you?”

“No. Zayn…”

“Yes?”

“I love you. I guess I have for awhile, but I wouldn't let myself accept it because I never thought someone like you would want someone like me. I didn't think we were possible.”

“Why would you think that, Liam?” Zayn asked, but he shook his head and quickly said, “Actually, don't answer that. It's just going to be you putting yourself down again. Just know that none of it is true, okay? I love you, and, despite everything you think you are, I think you're amazing.”

Liam choked on his croissant. Zayn hurriedly handed him his juice.

“I'm sorry that this is such shitty timing,” he continued once Liam had gotten his breath. “But I honestly should have told you a long time ago. Maybe things would have turned out differently.”

“But they turned out fine, though,” Liam said. “We're here together right now.”

“But you got hurt again,” Zayn said, his voice cracking. “If I had told you before, would you still have gone back?”

“I don't know,” Liam answered honestly, “but none of this is on you, Zayn. I'm going to be okay, and, yeah, maybe this isn't great timing, but that guy has kept me from going after what makes me happy for so long and I can't let him do that anymore. You make me happy, and I want to be with you. I may not be normal for a while. I may not be able to be like everyone else is in a relationship, but I want a relationship with you. I know that.”

“I'll wait,” Zayn promised. “We don't even have to call this a relationship yet. We'll just call it...we'll just call it...um...”

“Us,” Liam said, setting his plate down on the bed and laying with his head in Zayn's lap. Zayn started playing with his hair.

“Perfect,” he said.

***7 months later***

“Hey, sunshine, my parents will be here in about ten minutes.”

Zayn groaned nervously. Liam laughed.

“What is it?”

“Your parents have never seen my art. What if they hate it?”

“They won't hate it,” Liam assured him. “It's amazing. Besides, you know they would want to support you no matter what.”

That evening was Zayn's very first art show, and though it was early, it had already gone exceptionally well. Many items had already been sold, some bought by major art critics, and all of Zayn's students had shown up to literally “ooh” and “aah” at his work. Liam was so proud. Of course, he would have been proud if no one had shown up too.

“Can I have one of your anxiety pills?” Zayn whined, and Liam laughed again.

“You'll be fine, my dear.”

Liam had needed therapy after everything with his previous relationship was said and done, and though he still had to take one pill a day to avoid those crippling panic attacks that he found out he’d been having for quite a while, he was doing good. He was happy, and he was healthy. He'd stopped flinching when Zayn or anyone moved towards him too fast, and he'd even discovered that his sexual problems had been a problem of trauma and anxiety, and they rarely came up these days, no pun intended. Liam was a normal twenty-three-year-old with a gorgeous, god-like boyfriend.

Zayn's family showed up a little before Liam's-they had planned on being there before it started, but there had been some drama with Zayn's sister Safaa and her dress (the boys didn't want to know)-and the family greeted both of the boys with hugs and kisses on the cheek. When Liam's family arrived, they said hello to the boys the same way, and then the moms and sisters hugged as well.

Ruth liked Zayn. The rest of Liam's family did too, but Ruth especially.

Once the Paynes found out everything that happened between Liam and Avery, they were furious at themselves for ever pushing the two of them together. They were mad at Liam too, of course, for not saying a word about it, but after lots of shouting and tears, they had held each other and apologized all around.

Diane had even sent Liam an apology text two months after it was all over. Liam assured her that it wasn't her fault.

The show's 'rush hour' started shortly after that, and so everyone decided to leave Zayn to his business.

“I'll be back studying,” Liam told Zayn, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Come get me if you need anything.”

“Okay, doll. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

After running quickly to the car to get his backpack, Liam went to a secluded section of the gallery. He took out his notebook, plugged his earphones into his phone and began watching the first of two lectures he'd had earlier that day.

When he signed up to go back to school, Zayn had suggested asking his teachers if he could record the class so that he didn't have to try to rush making notes he wouldn't understand later or try to memorize everything from just one lesson. Liam had been scared to, but, to his surprise, all of his teachers had agreed, and they were even good about giving Liam extra time on his tests when he needed it, which wasn't too often. He had three classes that semester, which was much easier than the five he'd been trying to juggle the first time around, and, so far, he had two Bs and an A. Liam was more than okay with that. He was proud of that. Maybe he wasn't _so_ dumb after all.

Liam was a few minutes into re-watching his second lecture (he always re-watched them once before going back, playing them again and taking more thorough notes) when one ear-bud was taken out of his ear and a kiss placed on his cheek. Liam smiled.

“Hey, sunshine. How's it going?”

“Really good,” Zayn said, smiling as Liam turned to face him. “I'm sorry to interrupt, but my secondary school art instructor is here and I want you to meet her.”

“Yeah, of course!” Liam said. Zayn waited patiently while he packed his bag back up and slung it over his shoulder-it might have looked silly with his suit, but, hey, textbooks weren't cheap-and then took his hand, leading him to Mrs. Byrd, who Liam knew had been the one who encouraged him to pursue art even though it was a risky major choice.

“Mrs. Byrd, this is Liam, my boyfriend,” Zayn introduced as the two shook hands. “Liam, this is Mrs. Byrd, my favorite teacher.”

“That may be understandably true, Zayn, but, please, you're not in my class anymore. Call me, Celine, both of you.”

“It's nice to meet you, Celine,” Liam said.

“You too, Liam,” the woman said kindly. “You two are a beautiful couple.”

“He's my favorite work of art,” Zayn said with a large smile as he held onto Liam's arm and gazed up at his face adoringly. Liam looked at Zayn the same, blushing as he did so.

“He is wonderful, Zayn,” Celine agreed. “You both are.”

They _were_ both wonderful, Liam thought. Zayn was wonderful. Liam was wonderful. Their relationship was wonderful.

Liam's life was beautiful.


End file.
